Obituaries

Alfred R. Armstrong, 94, chemistry professor emeritus, died on Feb. 8.

Armstrong was born in Washington, D.C., and spent most of his childhood in Asherton, Texas. He earned a B.S. in 1932 and an M.S. in 1934 from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and taught at his alma mater for a year before enrolling in the graduate program at the University of Michigan. In 1945, he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.

He rejoined the faculty of William & Mary that year and continued teaching full-time until 1976. He was responsible for courses in analytical chemistry and coauthored the textbook "Qualitative Analysis and Chemical Equilibrium." His campus volunteerism won him an award for "significant service to the college through personal activities, influence, and leadership." From 1976 to 1996, he taught laboratory courses in general chemistry on a part-time basis.

An emeritus member, Armstrong joined ACS in 1968. He was chair of the ACS Virginia Section in 1959, and in 1972 the section presented him with its Distinguished Service Award, citing his high standards of teaching and his dedication to students.

He is survived by Martha Barber Armstrong, his wife of 71 years; two sons; and five grandchildren.

Benjamin S. Benjaminov, 82, chemistry professor emeritus, died Jan. 12.

Born in Bulgaria, Benjaminov moved with his family to Israel (then Palestine) in 1939. There, he was certified as an English teacher in Tel Aviv. He immigrated to the U.S., and in 1952, received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Kansas. He finished a master's degree at Allegheny College in 1958. In 1964, he was the first recipient of a Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Before he joined the faculty at Indiana's Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1959, he taught at the University of Massachusetts, at Rockford College, and at Alliance College where he taught all required chemistry classes for the bachelor's degree.

Benjaminov wanted science and engineering students to learn and appreciate the arts. He served as the chairman for the Rose-Hulman Fine Arts Series and the Visual & Performing Arts Committee. He also helped create a classical radio station at the university and served as the president and board member of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years.

He was preceded in death by a daughter and is survived by his wife of 58 years, Renee; a daughter; and three grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1954.

Carl W. Christensen, 102, a chemical engineer, died on Feb. 7.

The eldest son of Danish parents, he earned a degree in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1927.

During Christensen's career, he worked in chemical R&D with several divisions of Armour & Co. (later Dial) and the Shipley Co. (later Rohm and Haas). His projects included work with fats and oils, leather, and microchips. He held more than 40 patents for his work.

At age 90, he traveled to Denmark with his daughter. He e-mailed dear friends regularly, led a daily aerobics class for residents in his community, and at 101, discovered he had a talent for watercolor painting.

Christensen was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Ruth, and is survived by his son, Craig, also an ACS member; one daughter; two sisters; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1933.

Stuart W. Fenton, 83, a professor of chemistry, died on Feb. 4.

He was born in London, Ontario, and worked as a fuel technologist before obtaining degrees in chemistry. He earned a B.S. in 1945 and an M.S. in 1946 from Queen's University, in Ontario. After serving as a research officer at the National Research Council of Canada for a year, he headed south. In 1950, he completed a Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Fenton joined the University of Minnesota chemistry department in 1951. He chaired the Board of Residency Review for 18 years and the chemistry department for seven years, and he helped with designs for new chemistry buildings and a hazardous waste disposal facility.

An avid fisherman and skier, he also enjoyed dancing and photography. He loved to read, and in holiday cards would include a list of books he and his wife enjoyed that year.

Fenton's wife, Eleanor Salisbury, and his brother survive him. An emeritus member, Fenton joined ACS in 1947.

Vinayak V. Kane, 74, a synthetic organic chemist, died Jan. 12.

He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Poona, India, and in 1963, his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Oxford University. Kane's career included positions in the pharmaceutical industry and on the faculties of many institutions around the world. Recognized for his work in synthetic organic chemistry, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Bangkok in 1991. Most recently, he was visiting professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Kane is survived by his wife, Pauline; two daughters; and two grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1959.

Patricia P. Lancaster, 68, a chemistry educator, died on Jan. 2.

Born in Anderson, S.C., she grew up in Cookeville, Tenn. In 1958, Lancaster graduated with a B.S. in chemistry education from Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and in 1965, received an M.A. in education from Tennessee Technological University. She taught mathematics, chemistry, and other science courses at the high school and junior college level from 1958 until retirement in 2002. Her last teaching position was at Girls' Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Lancaster presented papers at regional-, state-, and national-level conferences during her career. Among her numerous awards, the ACS Chattanooga Section presented her with the High School Teacher of the Year Award in both 1988 and 2001. She also served as the chair of the section in 1988 and was the current section coordinator for National Chemistry Week.

Survivors include Lancaster's husband, James; two children; and three grandchildren. She joined ACS in 1983.

John L. Magee, 91, a physical chemist, died on Dec. 16, 2005, following a short illness.

He earned an A.B. in 1935 from Mississippi College, an M.S. in 1936 from Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1939 from the University of Wisconsin.

After postdoctoral work at Princeton University, Magee held positions at B.F. Goodrich and at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. He worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II and then at Argonne National Laboratory, where he examined the chemical effects of radiation.

In 1948, he joined the chemistry faculty at the University of Notre Dame. He became a full professor in 1953 and served as department chair for four years. Concurrently, he was an associate director, and later the director (1971-75), of the Radiation Laboratory, a U.S.-government-funded national laboratory for radiation research.

A researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory until formal retirement in 1986, Magee undertook theoretical study of the biological effects of charged-particle irradiation.

Colleagues remember Magee as a "theoretician par excellence," but he was also deeply rooted in experimental facts. The celebrated Samuel-Magee theory introduced the concept of the spur, a microscopic region containing the initially produced species that react and diffuse, obeying the laws of ordinary kinetics, to give the final products.

He is survived by his wife, Priscilla, and three children. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1939.

Kenneth R. Magnell, 67, a chemistry professor emeritus at Central Michigan University (CMU), died on Feb. 4.

Born in Detroit, he received B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from Wayne State University and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Minnesota. In 1970, he joined the faculty at CMU where he remained until his retirement in 2003. His early research was in the area of transition-metal coordination chemistry.

Magnell taught various courses including inorganic and general chemistry. In 1997, he helped developed an interactive software program that allowed students to create Lewis electron dot structures. Originally published in 2000, it was later included as part of the JCE Software General Chemistry Collection (7th Edition, 2003).

The son of a pharmacist, he served as the undergraduate prepharmacy adviser at CMU for nearly three decades and on numerous department and university committees. Following his retirement, Magnell enjoyed traveling by motor home to visit family as far away as Alaska. He was active in his church and an avid volunteer for Meals On Wheels.

He is survived by his wife, Ruth; five children; nine grandchildren; one great-grandchild; two brothers; and a sister. He joined ACS in 1965.

Nabi Magomedov, 36, an organic chemist, died on Feb. 7 in an accident on the New York State Thruway. His wife, Natalya Shcherbinina, and their three-year-old son also died when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and hit the family's vehicle head-on.

Magomedov earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Petersburg University, in Russia, and completed a Ph.D. in chemistry at Ohio State University in 1999. After completing postdoctoral work at Harvard University, he became an assistant professor at the University of Rochester. His research group focused on the discovery and development of synthetic organic reactions, including enantioselective catalysts.

He won several young investigator awards, including the Amgen New Faculty Award and Research Corporation's Research Innovation Award. "Nabi had made significant contributions in his career at the university, and we'll all miss his creative insights and his drive to excel," said Robert K. Boeckman Jr., chair of the Rochester chemistry department, in a statement. Magomedov joined ACS in 1999.

Krishna G. Sachdev, 69, a research chemist, died on Aug. 11, 2005, of complications from kidney failure.

Born in India, she earned a B.Sc. and M.S. in chemistry from Panjab University. She came to the U.S. for further study and obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry from Tufts University in 1966.

After postdoctoral work at Harvard University, Sachdev accepted a teaching position in India. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1971 and again assumed a postdoctoral position at Harvard. Two years later, she joined Polaroid as a senior research chemist. In 1979, she accepted an R&D position at IBM's Microelectronics Division in East Fishkill, N.Y., where she worked until 2005.

At IBM, Sachdev held 70 U.S. patents and authored several publications covering microlithography, electronic packaging, environmentally friendly aqueous cleaning methods, high-temperature polymers, improved thermal-interface materials, and conductive adhesives for lead-free interconnections. She received several technical excellence and invention achievement awards at IBM.

Sachdev is survived by her husband of 44 years, Harbans; a sister; and three brothers. She joined ACS in 1975.

Ramiro Sanchez, 57, an organic chemist, died on Dec. 9, 2005, in a traffic accident.

Born and raised in Laredo, Texas, he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Harpur College at the State University of New York. He completed his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in organic chemistry from SUNY, Binghamton.

Sanchez held faculty appointments in chemistry at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., and at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. His research on organometallic reaction mechanisms led to the design and synthesis of metal-containing reagents and the development of novel synthetic methods, such as the formylation of olefins via a tandem carbometalation/carbonylation of a main-group bimetallic species.

He was a reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the ACS Petroleum Research Fund. He was honored with several university awards. Sanchez joined ACS in 1985.

Henry E. Wirth, 97, a physical chemist, died on Feb. 16.

Born in Bellingham, Wash., Wirth received his bachelor's degree in 1929, his master's degree in 1931, and his Ph.D. in 1934, all from the University of Washington, Seattle. He taught at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University) in Fargo (1934-39), at Ohio State University in Columbus (1939-50), and was professor and chair of the department of chemistry at Syracuse University in New York (1950-65).

Wirth's research interests included the thermodynamic properties of seawater and soaps, as well as cryogenic studies of phase transitions in diborane and other boron compounds. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1927.

He was preceded in death by his first wife of 65 years, Naomi. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, and three children.