Obituaries

Julius Axelrod, scientist emeritus at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), died at his home in Rockville, Md., on Dec. 29, 2004, at the age of 92. He will be remembered for his Nobel Prize-winning work on chemical communications in the brain that led to modern-day drugs for depression and anxiety disorders.

The son of Polish immigrants, Axelrod was born in New York City in 1912. He had dreams of being a doctor, but after earning his bachelor's degree in biology from the City University of New York, he was rejected by all of the medical schools to which he applied. Unfazed, Axelrod took a job testing vitamin supplements at a city industrial hygiene lab. Without quitting his day job, he took night courses in chemistry at New York University and earned his M.S. degree in 1941.

Axelrod went on to work on the chemistry of analgesics at Goldwater Memorial Hospital in New York City, then moved to NIH, where he discovered a new class of drug-metabolizing liver enzymes and studied the tissue distribution and metabolic fate of caffeine, amphetamines, ephedrine, and narcotic drugs. More than a decade passed before he decided to pursue a Ph.D., earning one in pharmacology from George Washington University in 1955. He joined NIMH soon thereafter.

There, Axelrod studied the metabolism of LSD and other psychoactive drugs, as well as the biosynthesis of various hormones. He also helped explain how brain cells send out small molecules known as neurotransmitters to communicate with neighboring cells. In particular, he identified transport proteins that terminate the conversation by pumping neurotransmitters back inside the cell that had released them. This breakthrough led to the development of Prozac and related drugs for mood and anxiety disorders and earned Axelrod a share of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology.

Axelrod retired from NIMH in 1984 but continued to work as an unpaid guest researcher through the early 1990s. His wife of 53 years, Sally Taub Axelrod, died in 1992. He is survived by two sons and three grandchildren. Joined ACS in 1944; emeritus member.

Robert Garner, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Alabama, died on Sept. 20, 2004, after suffering a heart attack. He was 71.

A native of Mobile, Ala., Garner graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in 1954 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Rice University in 1958. He then joined the University of Alabama to teach undergraduate chemistry classes for premed students, eventually becoming a full professor in the chemistry department. He also spent 21 years as assistant dean and head of the Office of Student Services in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Garner helped start the Rural Health Scholars Program at the University of Alabama, which exposes high school seniors from rural areas to the medical field to encourage them to practice medicine in their communities. He later supplemented the program to include a focus on encouraging minorities to build a career in medicine. In 1974, he was given a major grant from the Department of Education to establish a mentoring program for minority premed students.

In addition to his work at the university, Garner served on the Alabama State Department of Education Committee on Advanced Placement from 1982 to 1987. For ACS, he was a long-time member of the Alabama Section and served as its chair in 1966. He was a member of the board of directors for both Habitat of Tuscaloosa and the Kiwanis Club of Greater Tuscaloosa. He also assisted with youth camp and Sunday school for his local Baptist church.

Garner is survived by his wife, Margaret, and four sons. Joined ACS in 1959.

Arno Heyn, professor emeritus of chemistry at Boston University, died on Dec. 5, 2004, at the age of 86.

Heyn was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), to a German mother and American father. He was raised in Germany but chose to use his U.S. citizenship to move to Detroit in 1937. There, he attended the University of Michigan and earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1940 and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 1944.

After graduation, Heyn took a position at Sun Oil Co. in Norwood, Pa. In 1947, he joined the Boston University chemistry faculty as an instructor teaching analytical and environmental chemistry, eventually rising through the ranks to become a full professor. He retired in 1986.

While at Boston University, Heyn was an active member of the ACS Northeastern Section. He served as councilor from 1967 to 1993 and as alternate councilor until 2003. He was also appointed editor of the Nucleus, the official publication of the Northeastern Section, from 1989 to 2003. At the national level, he served on several ACS committees, including a position as vice chair of the Council Policy Committee in 1988 and as a consultant to the Constitution & Bylaws Committee in 2003.

In his personal life, Heyn was involved with the Sub Sig Outing Club. He served as group leader for many skiing and hiking excursions and was instrumental in assisting the group's renovation of two properties: a closed village school near Moretown, Vt., that was converted into a ski dorm, and a cabin north of Bartlett, N.H. After retirement, Heyn took up other pursuits, including becoming a professional locksmith.

Heyn is survived by his wife, Helen, and three children. Joined ACS in 1940; emeritus member.

Thomas J. Jacks, a former research chemist at the Department of Agriculture's Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC), died on Aug. 3, 2004, of leukemia. He was 66.

Jacks was born in Chicago and received a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. Following graduation, he joined SRRC in New Orleans as a postdoctoral research fellow and was eventually hired as a research chemist.

Jacks's research encompassed a variety of topics, including oilseed processing, plant ultrastructure, peptide and protein chemistry, determination and modeling of molecular conformations of proteins and peptides, free-radical chemistry, and most recently plant protection through genetic engineering.

Jacks was an incisive technical editor who served as an associate editor to the Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society starting in 1975. He coorganized an international symposium on crop biotechnology at the 2000 spring ACS national meeting in San Francisco and coedited a book based on the symposium presentations.

Jacks is survived by his wife, Audrey, and his mother. Joined ACS in 1968.

John P. (Jack) Mulroney, former president and chief operating officer of Rohm and Haas, died on Sept. 24, 2004, at the age of 68.

A Philadelphia native, Mulroney earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1957 at the University of Pennsylvania. While a student, he accepted a summer co-op position at Rohm and Haas that led to full-time employment with the firm in 1958.

Early in his 40-year career with Rohm and Haas, Mulroney helped develop the propylene oxidation research process used to make acrylic acid monomers, a process that is still in use today. In 1971, he took the position of assistant general manager for the company's Italian subsidiary, and within six years had become the European regional director.

During the 1980s, Mulroney assumed positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of technology, group vice president, and corporate business director. He was elected a member of the Rohm and Haas board of directors in 1982, then president and chief operating officer in 1986, positions he held until retiring in 1998.

According to colleagues, ensuring employee safety was one of Mulroney's greatest passions. He once stood at a plant gate at 5 AM in Houston to greet employees during the shift change and encourage them to work safely. When he told the story, Mulroney would jokingly point out that "some of the people that morning had no idea who I was. As a result, the guard desk got several calls telling them of a stranger approaching employees in the parking lot."

Mulroney was well known throughout the Philadelphia community for his involvement and leadership in civic organizations. His time working in Italy instilled in him a deep love for opera, and he joined the board of directors of the Opera Company of Philadelphia in 1985. After retiring from Rohm and Haas, he accepted a position as executive director, serving the opera company as a volunteer.

Mulroney is survived by his wife, Agnes; five children; and nine grandchildren. Joined ACS in 1984.

David B. Pall, a chemist famous for designing sophisticated filters, died on Sept. 21, 2004, at the age of 90.

Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Pall earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from McGill University, Montreal. He moved to New York after graduation to work for a chemical company and later joined the Manhattan Project as a research chemist.

After the war, Pall set up a lab in his garage in Queens and began designing an improved metallic filter for work in high temperatures and corrosive materials. He founded Micro Metallic Corp., which was later renamed Pall Corp., to market his design.

Pall received 181 patents for his various filter designs, including filters for helicopter fuel and for liquids used in airplanes and spacecraft. He is most famous for developing a filter to purify blood, a project he began when his first wife, Josephine, died in 1959 from aplastic anemia, a blood disease that is commonly treated with blood transfusions. His invention has reduced the risk of viral infection associated with transfusions and organ transplants. Pall was presented with the 1990 National Medal of Technology in honor of his achievements.

Pall was preceded in death by his second wife, Helen; a daughter; and a son. He is survived by three daughters. Joined ACS in 1941; emeritus member.

Donald G. Reiches, founder of Reiches Chemical Inc., died on Aug. 26, 2004, at the age of 66.

A native of Cleveland, Reiches earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1959. Following graduation, he took a position with Carlon, a business unit of thermoplastic processing specialist Lamson & Sessions Co.

For the next 30 years, Reiches held production and sales positions for a variety of companies in the rubber industry, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber, American Rubber Products, and Polysar Inc. He then founded Reiches Chemical to serve as a representative for manufacturers of rubber compounds.

At the time of his death, Reiches was vice chair of the ACS Rubber Division. He was also very active in the Northeast Ohio Rubber Group and various other rubber groups based in the Midwest.

Reiches is survived by his wife, Linda; three children; four grandchildren; and his mother. Joined ACS in 2004.

John W. Swanson, 86, a chemist retired from the Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wis.--now the Institute of Paper Science & Technology (IPST) at Georgia Institute of Technology--died on Aug. 4, 2004, from complications related to Alzheimer's disease.

Swanson was an internationally recognized expert on the surface of paper. He served as a consultant with IPST member companies and also gave lectures and speeches across the U.S. and at paper science institutions around the world.

A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Swanson earned a bachelor's degree from Morningside College in 1940. He was a graduate student at Iowa State University, Ames, when he was recruited by the Institute of Paper Chemistry in 1941 as a research chemist. In 1972, Swanson was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Morningside College, and in 1982, he received an honorary master of science degree from Lawrence University.

Swanson became a member of the faculty in 1950, teaching graduate courses on surface and colloid science and the colloid chemistry of papermaking materials. He was later made the first director of the natural materials and systems division. He retired in 1982 but continued to consult with clients in the paper industry for several years afterward.

Swanson was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce. He is survived by three children, 12 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Joined ACS in 1940; emeritus member.

Samuel J. Yosim, a hazardous waste treatment expert retired from Rockwell International Corp. (now Rockwell Automation), died on May 5, 2004, at the age of 82.

Yosim graduated from the University of Florida in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He went on to earn an M.S. in physical chemistry in 1949 and a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry in 1952 from the University of Chicago. While working on his doctorate, Yosim conducted experiments on recoil atoms resulting from the neutron-gamma ray capture process at Argonne National Laboratory.

Following graduation, Yosim took a position with North American Aviation, where he worked as a senior engineer until joining Rockwell International in 1956. At Rockwell, Yosim experimented with molten salt technology and its application in environmental management. He was responsible for developing the molten carbonate process, which he demonstrated could be used for destruction of chemical warfare agents, PCBs, pesticides, and fluorinated material.

Yosim is survived by his wife, Esther; a son; a daughter; and four grandchildren.