Obituaries

Morton Harfenist, a research chemist for Burroughs Wellcome, died on Dec. 25, 2004, following a brief illness. He was 82.

While with Burroughs Wellcome, Harfenist developed treatments for diseases ranging from tapeworms in sheep to depression in humans. He strongly felt that it was his good fortune to make a living at something that he found both stimulating and satisfying.

In his personal life, Harfenist enjoyed hiking mountains throughout the world, strolling through local forests, coaxing vegetables and flowers from his red clay soil, singing along to old folk songs, and immersing himself in classical music.

An emeritus member, Harfenist joined ACS in 1943.

Charles D. Keeling, the environmental chemist who made the first definitive record of a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide, died of a heart attack on June 20 at his Montana home. He was 77.

"Dr. Keeling will be sorely missed by the NOAA family," said National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr. in a statement released by Scripps. "His pioneering work on atmospheric carbon dioxide fundamentally changed the way we view the planet and our role on it and firmly placed him in the pantheon of history's great scientists."

In addition to showing annual increases in atmospheric CO₂, Keeling's data provided the first evidence that carbon dioxide levels in the Northern Hemisphere fluctuate month to month due to seasonal changes in photosynthesis activity. While with Scripps, Keeling conducted additional research on geochemistry and the global carbon cycle and was recognized as a leader in these fields.

In 1997, then-vice president Albert Gore Jr. honored Keeling for 40 years of outstanding research with a special achievement award. In 2002, he was chosen by President George W. Bush to receive the National Medal of Science.

A native of Scranton, Pa., Keeling received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1948. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University in 1954 and took a postdoctoral fellowship at California Institute of Technology. He was recruited to Scripps in 1956 to take charge of the CO₂ monitoring program.

In his personal life, Keeling was an avid outdoorsman and music lover who played chamber piano and founded the University of California, San Diego, Madrigal Singers. He is survived by his wife, Louise; five children; and six grandchildren.

Robert S. Melville, an expert on the automation of clinical chemistry laboratories, died of congestive heart failure on March 15 at the age of 91.

Born in Worcester, Mass., Melville graduated from Worcester's Clark University in 1937 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a minor in biology. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1950 from the University of Iowa.

Between undergraduate and graduate studies, Melville worked as a volunteer at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. During World War II, he served as the chief noncommissioned officer in charge of laboratory operations in the U.S. Army's Sixth General Hospital and was stationed in Casablanca, Morocco, and Naples, Rome, and Bologna, Italy.

After the war, Melville worked as chief clinical chemist at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago before becoming chief of the clinical laboratory at the Veterans Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa.

In 1963, Melville moved to Washington, D.C., to take a position as chief biochemist and laboratory requirements specialist for the Veterans Administration hospital system. He then moved to the National Institutes of Health, where he did pioneering work in the development and evaluation of laboratory testing and measurement equipment for clinical laboratory automation.

In 1980, Melville joined the Food & Drug Administration, eventually becoming director of the Division of In Vitro Diagnostic Device Standards in the Bureau of Medical Devices. He retired in 1982.

Melville served as president of the American Association of Clinical Chemists and was active in a number of other professional organizations. He was also a member and master gardener for the Men's Garden Club of Montgomery County, Md., and was a Boy Scout troop leader in Iowa and Maryland.

Melville is survived by his wife, Eleanor; five children; and eight grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1943.

Robert F. O'Malley, professor emeritus at Boston College, died on Feb. 16 at the age of 86.

Born in Framingham, Mass., O'Malley received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Boston College in 1940. He then worked in industry for a short while before joining the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service in India during World War II.

After the war, O'Malley enrolled in the graduate chemistry program at Boston College, which at the time offered only an M.S. degree. In 1947, he was hired to teach chemistry at Boston College to help handle an overflow of veterans returning to school. He obtained his M.S. degree in 1948 and, in 1961, earned a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At Boston College, O'Malley conducted research on electrolytic fluorination of organic compounds. He was also well-known for writing a freshman chemistry problems book based on real examples from research literature, including the Journal of the American Chemical Society. He completed a second edition of the book in 1974 in collaboration with Henry O. Daley Jr. of Bridgewater State College, in Massachusetts.

O'Malley also served several times as chair of the chemistry department at Boston College, during which time he oversaw establishment of the department's doctoral program. He taught at the college until 1992 and continued supervising laboratory courses until 1996.

In 1979, O'Malley served as chair of the ACS Northeastern Section. He was also a member of the Ashland Historical Society and a trustee of the Ashland Public Library.

O'Malley was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret. He is survived by five children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He joined ACS in 1941.

Obituaries are written by Victoria Gilman. Obituary notices may be sent by e-mail to v_gilman@acs.org and should include detailed educational and professional history.