Nov. 23, 1925—Aug. 22, 2009

Martin Bates, a retired applied mathematician, died of cancer Saturday in his Kenmore home. He was 83.

Mr. Bates was born Marty Bihovsky in Brooklyn. He changed his surname to Bates as a teenager.

At age 2, he moved to Tien Jian, China, where his family was engaged in the fur trading business. In 1937, when the Japanese invaded China, the family returned to Brooklyn. After graduating from Boys High School, he enrolled in the Navy’s V-12 program and was sent to Cornell University, where he studied engineering, math and physics. After his discharge, he obtained a master’s degree in mathematics from Cornell.

He came to Buffalo in 1950 to work at Bell Aircraft and several years later joined Sierra Research Corp., then a fledgling engineering firm, where he worked until his retirement in 1997. In 2001, he was inducted into the Niagara Frontier Aeronautics Hall of Fame to honor his work, including collision avoidance mechanisms for aircraft, stability and control analysis for helicopters, and navigation aids.

A soft-spoken man with a self-deprecating sense of humor, Mr. Bates was respected by all who knew him for his intelligence, dedication and quiet determination. When he wasn’t busy auditing Ph. D.-level math courses at the University at Buffalo, he spent his free time in state, county and local parks, collecting and identifying wild fungi. Just three weeks ago, he was scrambling over an embankment at Emery Park in search of chanterelles.

Mr. Bates was active in the Buffalo Jewish community, particularly at Temple Sinai in Amherst, where he served as president, welcomed newcomers to the community and was the force behind its “Tzedakah Garden,” growing vegetables that were donated to local soup kitchens. He was a avid environmentalist and a generous supporter of liberal causes.

Mr. Bates is survived by his wife of nearly 63 years, the former Esther Neustatter; two sons, Ron Bihovsky and David; and a daughter, Becki.

His funeral was Tuesday in Temple Sinai.