Obituary
Robert J. “Mac” McNelis passed away on December 19, 2012. He was a loving, devoted husband, father and grandfather, a meticulous mathematician, and a loyal friend to all who knew him. Bob was a gracious, humble man who valued love of God, family and country. His years of service to his country at NSA were an example of this dedication and commitment. Bob was a marvelous role model and genuine friend, and always put others ahead of himself. As a devoted husband and father, he showed us the value of unconditional love.
He was born on October 15, 1940, the youngest of three sons of Francis and Mary McNelis, and raised in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Bob married Maria E. Mohen in 1964. They had 3 children: Robert Joseph. Jr., Susan Maria, and James Patrick. He had 9 grandchildren.
He graduated from GAR Memorial High School in 1958, and from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA in 1962 with a BA in Mathematics. He was awarded a National Defense Fellowship to Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA from which he received an MS degree in Mathematics in 1964.
He began employment as a mathematician at the National Security Agency, Fort George G. Meade, MD in 1964. During his 31 year career at NSA, he evaluated the quality of mathematical algorithms, their implementation, integration and usage in information security systems designed to protect the most sensitive information owned by the US Government, our Allies and NATO member states.
He achieved the rank of Senior Technical Expert, equivalent to a Senior Executive, and held the position of Senior Scientist of the Information Security Standards and Evaluations Group. Bob was proud of his work and the people with whom he worked alongside. He cherished the memories of all he accomplished while working for the government.
He retired in 1996 and was named a Distinguished Member of the NSA Crypto-Mathematics Institute for achievements in the application of crypto-mathematical techniques to information security systems. (Added note – see his NSA Cryptologic Hall of Honor entry below – awarded in 2015.)
Following government retirement he continued work in the information security field as a consultant for Information Security Systems, Inc.
He is co-inventor of five US patents all dealing with algorithmic techniques to protect cellular communications.
He enjoyed model railroading and genealogy. Bob was a member of the Phoenix Society, the Genealogical Society, the Knights of Columbus, and was an active member of St. John’s Roman Catholic Church where he served as a lector.
He will be sincerely missed by all of his family and friends.
NSA/CSS Cryptologic Hall of Honor Entry
* Mr. Robert “Mac” McNelis was inducted into the NSA Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2015. The text below is from his Hall of Honor page on the NSA website.
Robert “Mac” McNelis joined NSA in 1964 as a math intern. Upon graduation from the intern program in 1967, he spent the rest of his career in the COMSEC organization. There, Mac became a leader in moving the directorate to more math-based procedures.
Responding to the “technical revolution” of the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. McNelis developed a science of system evaluation, now recognized as a “huge culture shift” in COMSEC practices. He directed a large staff in redesigning mathematical applications for crypto-security, and instituted a documentation program to improve evaluation quality. From 1984-1995 as Chief Evaluation Scientist, he was principal author of the Functional Security Requirements Specification document, which influenced the design and development of all U.S. government cryptographic devices.
In the same period, he developed measurable evaluation standards for security systems. When the COMSEC organization developed a requirements catalog of over 2,500 items, each based on an identified vulnerability in equipment, Mr. McNelis personally vetted each requirement. When the U.S. and UK discussed standards, he drove all significant change on the U.S. side during his tenure.
For thirty years, Mr. McNelis taught new crypto-mathematicians the fundamentals of system security. Known as an exacting taskmaster, he raised generations of Information Assurance Directorate technical personnel to work at the highest standards.
“Mac” built a critical field for the Information Assurance mission, and influenced two generations of NSA IAD analysts.