Derek A. Davenport

Derek A. Davenport, 89, died on April 4 in West Lafayette, Ind.

“He touched the lives, and occasionally altered the career paths, of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. He served as chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education as well as the Division of the History of Chemistry, and he was the recipient of several national awards. Derek traveled extensively, lectured in every state of the Union, and spent two sabbaticals overseas helping establish the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur. He was never one to turn down a good Manhattan, nor the opportunity to provide a colorful lecture (complete with slides) about his experiences in academia, his travels, or his ever-growing collection of Nigerian and Inuit art.”—family of Derek Davenport

Most recent title: professor emeritus of chemistry, Purdue University

Education: B.Sc., chemistry, 1947, and Ph.D., chemistry, 1950, University College London