Mel Appelbaum (1940–2016) was an IJF Level A referee in the Sport of Judo and 8th Dan in Judo.[1] Appelbaum also served as a writer and editor for Black Belt Magazine.[2]

Personal life

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Appelbaum was born in the Bronx in 1940, but raised in Queens.[1][3] He attended Martin Van Buren High School and Indiana Tech,[1] and went to St. John's University for his master's degree in Mathematics.[1] Appelbaum earned his doctorate from Poly Tech / NYU [1] He was an active member of the Morristown Jewish Center.[4]

Professional life

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Appelbaum was the owner of a US Patent "Fire Prevention Systems and Methods – A system or method that has an air distribution system configured to provide nitrogen into a room to reduce an oxygen concentration level within the room below a desired oxygen concentration level such that the atmosphere in the room fails to provide sufficient oxygen to sustain combustion".[5] He is also the owner of several other patents related to Fire Prevention Systems.[5] Appelbaum wrote numerous academic articles including "A heuristic method for estimating time-series models for forecasting" which was under "Applied Mathematics and Computation".[6]

Judo career

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Appelbaum founded the Indiana Tech Judo Club in 1962.[7] While there, he won the state Judo championship twice.[7] Appelbaum was a national medalist in the United States in Judo.[8] He beat national competitors such as Odell Terry.[9] Appelbaum was the National Collegiate Judo Champion.[1] He competed in the 1964 Olympic Trials, losing in the final match to eventual Olympian once to Senator and Governor Ben Campbell.[1] Mel served as a chairman for the New York Open along with Arthur Canario.[8]

Judo referee

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Mel served as the Chairman of the USA Judo Referee Commission.[10] Mel eventually referred at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[1] He was also a referee at the 1996 Paralympic Games. Mel also referred at the World Championships and Pan Am Games.[1] Mel was instrumental in bringing for the first US Olympic Women's Judo Team.[11] Mel received an 8th degree Black Belt in Judo.[3]

See also

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World Judo Championships

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Judo news [dead link]
  2. ^ "Black Belt". June 1965.
  3. ^ a b "Mel Appelbaum Obituary (1940 - 2016) The Star-Ledger". Legacy.com.
  4. ^ Contributors mjcby.org December 2014
  5. ^ a b "Mel Appelbaum Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com.
  6. ^ Appelbaum, Mel; Tsokos, Chris P. (June 1, 1985). "A heuristic method for estimating time-series models for forecasting. I". Applied Mathematics and Computation. 16 (4): 265–275. doi:10.1016/0096-3003(85)90010-4 – via ScienceDirect.
  7. ^ a b "Indiana Tech Judo Club". DOJO Bulletin Board. Black Belt. May 1964. p. 56 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b "2015 NY Open Judo Team Tournament". Jiu-Jitsu Times. April 1, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Friedenberg, Barney (June 29, 1965). "Northeaster United States Judo Championships". Black Belt. Active Interest Media. p. 54. Retrieved March 1, 2023 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Judo penalties". jdhsmith.math.iastate.edu.
  11. ^ With deepest sympathies teamusa.org