George Bourianoff
March 5, 1943 – July 28, 2024
A beloved fixture in Austin cultural circles, George Ivan Bourianoff, aged 81, died on July 28, 2024 at his home with his wife Linda, his inseparable companion for 59 years, by his side. Born in New York City on March 5, 1943, to Gleb and Lillian Bourianoff, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather and a luminary in the fields of physics and computational technologies.
George’s parents moved the family to Texas in his youth. He graduated from Mary Carroll High School in Corpus Christi in 1961, and by 1969 had earned his B.A., M.S., and PhD in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin.
His appreciation of life and learning was heightened by his confrontation with polio in his youth, including some time in an iron lung. After overcoming the disease, he grasped life with vigor and ardently pursued his passions for learning and writing.
George’s achievements reflect a rare combination of intellectual and humanistic pursuits. Over a career spanning almost five decades, he made significant contributions to the fields of physics, nanotechnology and CMOS processing. He retired (the second time) from Intel in 2017 after two impactful stints totaling 21 years. One of the highlights of his professional career was working as a senior scientist and group leader at the Superconducting Super-Collider in Waxahachie from 1989 to 1994. He held 11 patents and served as the keynote speaker at several international conferences in the fields of nanotechnology and CMOS processing.
Beyond his professional achievements, George was deeply involved in his community as an elder at Hyde Park Presbyterian Church, where he enjoyed attending services. His hobbies included traveling, staying on top of technology and world events, and writing. George especially loved the large family vacations he took with his wife, daughters, and eventually grandchildren to Mexico, Europe and Canada.
Over the last year, he spent significant time researching and writing a historical account of his father's emigration from Russia and subsequent life in the United States. He was surprised and honored to learn it had recently been selected for publication in the Westminster Writers Journal for 2024. Although largely curtailed from it the last 10 years of his life because of post-polio syndrome, hiking, especially in Oregon, was another passion of his.
Family was everything to George. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Linda Bourianoff; his brother, Gleb Bourianoff; daughters, Michelle Bourianoff (John Foster) and Angela Singavarapu (Gautham); grandsons, Zachary, Alexander, Matthew, and Nicolas Zalles and their dad, Juan Zalles; and granddaughter, Gia Singavarapu. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Vera Bourianoff; and daughter, Jennifer Bourianoff. His was a life well lived.
