In Memory of Professor Josef Silverstein (1922-2021).

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Date: 01 August 2021

We learned with great sadness of Professor Josef Silverstein's passing on 29 June 2021 at the age of 99, a week after his beloved wife, Mrs Marilyn Silverstein, passed away at the of age 90.

Professor Silverstein was ISEAS's third Director who served a two-year term at the Institute from 11 August 1970. Professor Silverstein was a Burma/Myanmar expert from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Under Professor Silverstein's leadership, the Institute grew in staff strength and produced a steady stream of conferences, seminars and publications, including occasional papers and monographs. He also advocated for the development of local and regional scholars at the Institute. Professor Silverstein, together with the first two directors, Professor Harry Benda and Professor John Legge, laid the foundations on which ISEAS stands today.

Having worked closely with Dr Goh Keng Swee and David Marshall to establish ISEAS as one of the first Southeast Asian research institutes to focus on Southeast Asia, Professor Silverstein handed over the directorship to Professor K.S. Sandhu on 1 July 1972.

He devoted his career as a scholar and...