Ronald Bentley

Ronald Bentley, 89, an emeritus professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, died on June 6 in Charleston, S.C., after a prolonged struggle with kidney disease.

Bentley received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Imperial College of Science & Technology at the University of London in 1943 and a D.Sc. from the University of London in 1965.

After conducting postdoctoral research with David Rittenberg in the biochemistry department at Columbia University, Bentley joined the faculty in the department of biochemistry and nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh in 1953. He served as chairman of the department from 1972 until 1975 and became an emeritus professor in 1992.

Bentley focused his research on the study of secondary metabolites in microorganisms and also researched chirality in organic compounds, publishing two books on this subject. He published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and served as an editor of the “Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.”

He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining the society in 1954. He received the Pittsburgh Award from the ACS Pittsburgh Section in 1979.

Bentley is survived by sons Colin and Peter. He was predeceased by his wife, Marian, in 1989, and daughter, Alison, in 1985.