I am banging my head against the wall searching for details on a Jewish man, Robert Donald Schultz, 1922-2010, who was in NYC and then mostly LA. Does anyone have any suggestions of groups or people or anything else I might contact to try to find his living relatives?

I am writing a history of electric spacecraft propulsion, and Robert Donald Schultz, 1922-2010 was a key player who invented a method now called electrospray propulsion. As the founder of this field, I would like to include his photograph and biographical details.

I have searched everywhere, Ancestry, newspapers (through Cornell University’s library system connections), the Boeing Archives (who control the relevant corporate documents now), you name it.

There is a person named Cathy Novick who uploaded some photos, ostensibly of Schultz, to Ancestry, but she hasn’t read, let alone replied to, my messages.

Schultz was born in Brooklyn in 1922, got a PhD from NYU in 1949, and then went to work for Aerojet in the LA area in the mid 1950s. At some point around 1960 he started working for North American Aviation, and he later became their Director of Life Sciences there (working on astronaut safety, especially as regards radiation). He published into mid 1960s at least.

His wife was named Ruth, and he had two daughters, one being Rochelle and the other potentially named Meryl. There is a Ruth Schultz listed on findagrave with the right location and approximate birth years, but she appears to be the wrong one. Her husband was named Samuel. I cannot confirm if Rochelle and Meryl have passed, but some sources I have found (familysearch for Rochelle and Geni for Meryl) suggest they both have.

I am at a loss. There are just so many Robert Schultzes that I can’t find the needle in the haystack.

Does anyone have any suggestions where else I might search? Are there any LA-area Jewish organizations that might be interested in helping me find extant relatives? Are there any other sources I should consider?