Melvyn W. Mosher

Melvyn W. Mosher, 69, professor of chemistry at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU), died on March 28.

Born in Palo Alto, Calif., Mosher was the son of marine biologist Kenneth Mosher and the nephew of chemists Harry S. Mosher and William Mosher.

He earned a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Washington in 1962 and both an M.A. in organic chemistry in 1964 and a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry in 1968 at the University of Idaho under James H. Cooley. He completed a two-year postdoctoral assignment at the University of Alberta.

Mosher began his career at Marshall University, in Huntington, W.Va., in 1969. In 1974, he joined MSSU while holding a joint appointment as assistant director of a regional crime laboratory. In 1998, he became a full-time member of the physical sciences department at MSSU. His undergraduate research group explored the relative reactivity of free radicals and designed, synthesized, and evaluated the biological activity of substituted hydroxylamines. Throughout his career he was active in outreach programs to local schools.

Mosher was a member of ACS, which he joined in 1964. He was active in the Central Ohio Valley Section and Mo-Kan-Ok, the Tri State Section, which he served as chair. He was a fellow of the Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics & Computing; he received its Outstanding Scientist of the Year award posthumously last month.

Mosher is survived by his wife of 46 years, Donna; three sons, Michael, Craig, and Thomas; and five grandchildren.