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Obituaries

by Susan J. Ainsworth
October 8, 2007 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 85, Issue 41

Seyhan N. Eĝe, 76, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor emerita of chemistry at the University of Michigan, died at her home in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sept. 13.

Born in Ankara, Turkey, Eĝe spent her early childhood in New York City, where her father represented the Turkish Republic as cultural attaché to the U.S.

Returning to Istanbul at the start of World War II, Eĝe attended the American College for Girls, graduating with honors. In 1950, she returned to the U.S., earning an M.S. degree in chemistry from Smith College, in Northampton, Mass., in 1952 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1956 under the guidance of Peter A. S. Smith.

After teaching briefly at the American College for Girls and Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, Mass., Eĝe returned to the University of Michigan in 1965, where she went on to become the first tenured woman and the first woman full professor on the faculty of its chemistry department. Her research focused on the photochemistry of heterocyclic compounds and reactive intermediates in photochemical reactions. She was named Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in 1990.

Between 1989 and 1991, Eĝe played a leading role in revamping the department's undergraduate curriculum. A promoter of innovative approaches to teaching chemistry, she authored a textbook, "Organic Chemistry: Structure and Reactivity," which appeared in five editions between 1984 and 2004 and has been translated into Spanish, Italian, and Chinese.

Eĝe also coauthored the 1994 National Science Foundation report "Innovation and Change in the Chemistry Curriculum," and was the general chair of the 16th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education at the University of Michigan in 2000. She retired from the faculty in 2001.

Eĝe received many awards, including the Chemical Manufacturers Association's Catalyst Award for excellence in college chemistry teaching and the Sarah Goddard Power Award from the Academic Women's Caucus of the University of Michigan in 2003.

She was one of the founders of the university's Women in Science & Engineering Program, which provides an annual undergraduate award to an outstanding woman or underrepresented minority student.

In her honor, the University of Michigan department of chemistry has established a fund to create the Seyhan N. Eĝe Junior Faculty Development Award, which will recognize junior faculty members for their teaching accomplishments.

Eĝe was a longtime member of Ann Arbor's Anthroposophic community, which follows the spiritual science teachings of Rudolf Steiner.

Eĝe is survived by a sister, Gunes Eĝe. An emerita member, she joined ACS in 1953.

Paul F. Fabio, an industrial organic chemist, died in Mooresville, N.C., on July 20, the day before his 80th birthday.

Born in Elmhurst, N.Y., Fabio graduated from City College of New York and earned an M.S. degree in chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.

He worked as an organic research chemist with what was then American Cyanamid's Lederle Laboratories division in Pearl River, N.J., for 42 years.

Fabio was a former president of the Tappan Zee Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and a master gardener.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Nan; four sons, Gregory, James, Timothy, and Paul John; four grandsons; and three granddaughters. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1952.

John W. Gofman, 88, a University of California, Berkeley, professor emeritus and nuclear safety advocate, died of heart failure on Aug. 15 at his home in San Francisco.

Born in Cleveland, Gofman graduated from Oberlin College with an A.B. degree in chemistry in 1939. He earned a doctorate in nuclear and physical chemistry from UC Berkeley in 1943. From 1941 to 1943, he was also co-group leader for plutonium research at UC Berkeley under the Manhattan Project.

He earned a medical degree from UC San Francisco in 1946 before returning to UC Berkeley to join its faculty and conduct coronary heart disease research.

In the early 1960s, he accepted an invitation by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to help establish the Biomedical Research Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the purpose of evaluating the health effects of all types of nuclear activities. He became the division's first director in 1963, while serving as an associate director of the entire laboratory.

After only two years, he stepped down from the administrative activities to have more time for his own research in cancer, chromosomes, and radiation and to analyze data relating to atomic bomb survivors and other epidemiological studies.

On the basis of his findings, Gofman fueled a national inquiry into the safety of atomic power. In 1969, he and Livermore colleague Arthur Tamplin suggested that federal safety guidelines for low-level radiation exposures be drastically reduced, which was contested by AEC. Gofman left Livermore in the 1970s and went on to become an expert witness in radiation-exposure lawsuits; he helped establish a San Fransciso-based advocacy group, the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility.

In 1973, Gofman briefly returned to full-time teaching at UC Berkeley before retiring that same year as a professor emeritus of molecular and cell biology to conduct full-time research on the health effects of radiation. This research led to five books. Throughout his career, he also authored more than 100 scientific papers.

Gofman was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, in 2004.

Yury S. Lipatov, 81, a polymer science pioneer, died on Aug. 31 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Born in Ivanovo, Russia, Lipatov graduated from the Moscow Oil Institute in 1949 and completed his Ph.D. in 1954 at Moscow's Physical Chemistry Institute. He was director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in Kiev, from 1965 until 1985, and head of the institute's physical chemistry of polymers department from 1965 until 2005.

A prominent polymer scientist in the former Soviet Union and a founder of polymer science in Ukraine, Lipatov focused his research on the physical chemistry of polymers, polymer blends, composite materials, liquid-crystalline polymers, and interpenetrating polymer networks.

Lipatov authored or coauthored more than 1,100 scientific papers and 18 monographs on the chemistry, physical chemistry, technology, and physics of polymers and polymeric materials, including three books.

Lipatov was an associate editor of the Journal of Adhesion, Composite Interfaces, and Journal of Polymer Materials, and he served as an editorial advisory board member of six other polymer journals.

He is survived by his wife, Tatyana, and son, Sergy. Lipatov joined ACS in November 2006.

Gerald J. Murphy, 59, a silicone research chemist, died of cancer on Aug. 22 at his home in Nassau, N.Y.

Born in Haverhill, Mass., Murphy earned a B.S. degree in chemistry from Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., in 1970 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974.

After finishing his education, Murphy joined Union Carbide as a research chemist, starting a 33-year career in specialty silicone research management with companies including Witco, Crompton, and General Electric. He ended his career as global manager for product stewardship at Momentive Performance Materials, the independent firm created with the sale of GE Advanced Materials to Apollo Management in December 2006. Murphy is credited with more than two dozen patents.

A resident of Nassau since March, Murphy had lived in Hopewell Junction and LaGrange, N.Y., where he was an active member of the Hudson Valley Iris & Daylily Society. In those communities, he had also been an active member of Saint Columba, Blessed Kateri, and Saint James Roman Catholic parishes, serving as a choir member and cantor. He was also active as a Boy Scout leader and supporter.

Murphy is survived by his wife of 37 years, Ella Mae; three sons, Michael, Matthew, and Timothy; and two grandchildren.

Weschler
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Sister Mary Charles Weschler, 87, a retired chemistry professor, died on Aug. 6 in Erie, Pa.

Weschler entered the Sisters of Mercy at St. Joseph Convent, Titusville, Pa., in 1940, and professed perpetual vows in 1946. She earned a B.S. degree in business education from Mercyhurst College, Erie, in 1940 and an M.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1951. She received her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1955.

Weschler was a faculty member at Mercyhurst from 1946 until 1977, serving as chair of the Division of Natural Science & Mathematics from 1963 to 1977.

From 1959 to 1963, Weschler participated in National Science Foundation-sponsored summer programs at colleges across the U.S. In 1970, she performed a year of postdoctoral research in environmental science at Argonne National Laboratory.

Beginning in 1976, she was active on the Board of Trustees at Mercyhurst and remained involved in Erie Hospitality House-a shelter for homeless women suffering from domestic abuse-serving as president for several years.

Weschler was named the 1970 Person of the Year by the Erie Engineering Societies Council and a 1997 Women Making History honoree by the Mercy Center for Women. In 1985, the Science Division of Mercyhurst inaugurated the Sister Mary Charles Weschler Lecture Series in her honor.

She is survived by a brother, Vice Adm. Thomas R. Weschler, and many nieces and nephews. An emeritus member, she joined ACS in 1956.

John M. (Mike) White, 68, distinguished professor and the Robert A. Welch Chair in materials chemistry at the University of Texas, Austin, died suddenly from a heart attack on Aug. 31 while visiting his son in Oklahoma City.

Born in Danville, Ill., White received a B.S. degree in chemistry from Harding College in Searcy, Ark., in 1960. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1966, joining the chemistry faculty at UT Austin as an assistant professor the same year. He was named associate professor in 1970 and full professor in 1976.

From 1979 until 1984, he served as chair of the department. He then held the Norman Hackerman Professorship in Chemistry from 1985 until 2000, when he was named the Welch chair.

From 1991 to 2002, he directed the National Science Foundation-supported Science & Technology Center for the Synthesis, Growth & Analysis of Electronic Materials at UT Austin.

Outside of his work within UT Austin's department of chemistry and biochemistry, White had been a visiting staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratory beginning in 1976. White also served as a program officer at NSF in 1978-79 and was a summer guest worker at the National Bureau of Standards during that same period. In 2004, White began a joint research appointment with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that led to the establishment of the Department of Energy's Institute for Interfacial Catalysis, which he served as its first director from 2005 until his death.

A pioneer in photochemistry, White focused on photo-assisted surface reactions, materials chemistry, problems in surface chemistry, catalysis, and the dynamics of surface reactions.

He received many honors and awards for his teaching and research, including the Academy of Distinguished Teachers Award and the Texas Blazers Faculty Excellence Award, both from UT Austin in 2003; the ACS Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry in 2001; the ACS Southwest Regional Award in 1999; the ACS Kendall Award in 1990; and UT Austin's Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence in 1998.

He was a member of the American Vacuum Society, the Materials Research Society, and ACS, which he joined 42 years ago.

White published more than 675 papers in professional journals, mentored more than 50 doctoral students, and engaged large numbers of undergraduate students in research. According to colleagues, the success of his students was his top priority.

White is survived by his wife, Gwen; two sons, Mark and Paul; a daughter, RaeAnne Landrum; and two grandchildren. He is also survived by his mother, Frances.

Obituaries are written by Susan J. Ainsworth. Obituary notices may be sent to s_ainsworth@acs.org and should include detailed educational and professional history.

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