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Environment

Obituaries

by Rachel Petkewich
January 9, 2006 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 84, Issue 2

Dale Baker, 85, director emeritus of Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), died on Dec. 11, 2005.

Born in Bucyrus, Ohio, Baker earned both bachelor's and master's degrees at Ohio State University, which also awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1986.

He joined CAS in 1946 as an assistant editor, became CAS director in 1958, and served in that capacity for 28 years. In 1983, he was appointed to the additional position of deputy executive director of the American Chemical Society. He was named director emeritus upon retiring from CAS in 1986.

Starting in the 1960s under his direction, CAS developed an automated information processing system that initiated its emergence as a premier electronic information resource. In the early 1980s, he helped found the STN International network in cooperation with Germany's FIZ Karlsruhe, making a wealth of scientific information more widely available for scientists.

Baker garnered many honors during his career, including ACS's Patterson-Crane Award and Herman Skolnik Award. He was inducted into the Ohio Science & Technology Hall of Fame in 2003.

Patricia M. Dreyfuss, 73, a polymer scientist, died on Dec. 6, 2005.

She received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Rochester, in New York, and a Ph.D. in polymer science from the University of Akron, in Ohio. During her career, she was a research chemist for B.F. Goodrich and a senior research scientist and professor at Michigan Macromolecular Institute, Midland, as well as at several U.S. universities. In addition, she worked in England at the University of Liverpool and the University of Bristol and in Poland at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Her research interests included polymer science, adhesion science, and antidiuretic hormone analogs.

An avid flautist, she played in orchestras and in an ensemble at her church.

She is survived by her husband of 51 years, M. Peter; two sons; and three grandchildren. An emeritus member, she joined ACS in 1970.

Hobart G. Hamilton Jr., 66, a chemistry professor, died on March 29, 2005.

A native of Washington, D.C., he received a B.S. in chemistry from Texas Western College (now the University of Texas, El Paso) in 1961. In 1963, he finished an M.S. in nuclear and radiochemistry. In 1967, he earned the first Ph.D. in chemistry conferred by New Mexico State University. After a postdoctoral fellowship in analytical chemistry at the University of Arizona, he worked on nuclear and analytical chemistry in Richland, Wash., and White Sands, N.M. In 1968, he joined the chemistry faculty at California State University, Stanislaus. Over the years, he helped start the nursing program and held several administrative positions.

Hamilton had many interests, including gardening, genealogy, and the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, but he was a family man first. He maintained a passion for water and air pollution research.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Eileen, and two daughters. He joined ACS in 1961.

Kenneth C. Hass, a research manager with Ford Motor Research Lab, died on June 1, 2005, after a battle with cancer. He was 47.

Hass received a B.A. in physics and mathematics from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1979. At Harvard University, he completed an A.M. in physics in 1980 and a Ph.D. in theoretical solid-state physics in 1984.

After doing two postdoctoral fellowships at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan, he joined Ford. He did research in a range of areas related to simulation of the physical and chemical properties of materials before becoming manager of the chemistry and environmental sciences department.

A colleague notes that Hass "was an outstanding spokesperson for the value and role of science in industry both within Ford and in the technical community, a strong advocate of science education, and a mentor for many."

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Magnani, and two sons. He joined ACS in 1996.

Eric Hutchinson, 84, professor emeritus of chemistry, died on Nov. 14, 2005.

Born on Christmas Day in England, Hutchinson attended the University of Cambridge, earning bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry between 1938 and 1945. After postdoctoral study and brief appointments at other universities, he spent 34 years at Stanford University. A skilled calligrapher, he also designed in 1967 the official shields that still represent the university.

Among his services to the scientific community, he was editor of the Journal of Colloid Science from 1950 to 1956.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lilian, in 1993 and is survived by two foster children.

William L. Masterton, 78, chemistry professor emeritus, died of a heart attack on June 19, 2005.

Born in Center Conway, N.H., he served in the U.S. Army in Korea during 1946 and 1947 and then went on to receive his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of New Hampshire. In 1953, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois. For the next two years, he taught chemistry as an instructor at Illinois. Then he headed the general chemistry program at the University of Connecticut until his retirement in 1979.

Masterton coauthored six editions of the textbook "Chemical Principles" with Emil Slowinski. With Cecile Hurley, Masterton penned five editions of "Chemical Principles and Reactions."

Beyond his teaching, Masterton's colleagues remember his maple syrup.

He is survived by his wife, Loris; two sons; and four grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1950.

Victor S. Morello, 90, a chemical engineer, died on Dec. 11, 2005.

He grew up in Pittsburgh and graduated in 1938 from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) with a B.S. in chemical engineering. He was one of six young scientists hired that year for a training program by the then small Dow Chemical in Midland, Mich. He worked on a pilot project to run a plant for the continuous chlorination of benzene.

When the U.S. entered World War II, Morello joined the Army Corps of Engineers. He served as an instructor at the Officer Candidate School in Fort Belvoir, Va., and was also deployed to the Philippines. After his discharge in 1946, he returned to Carnegie Tech under the GI Bill to earn a master's degree in 1947 and a Ph.D. in 1949. That year, he went back to Midland to work in Dow's Benzene Products Lab, but he would have other responsibilities during his tenure. In 1968, he became a process consultant, a position he held until his retirement in 1979.

In retirement, Morello traveled and volunteered.

He was preceded in death in 1997 by his wife of 49 years, Carolyn. He is survived by his daughter. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1940.

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