Tributes to Irving Shain
posted in the order of receipt

Irv Shain has been, and continues to be, even in retirement, one of the most consistently influential figures in the history of the University of Wisconsin. He was an inspirational teacher and scholar. As department chair and later chancellor, his leadership paved the way for the many difficult organizational and administrative modernizations needed for the challenging times he foresaw. The naming of this research tower for Irv Shain is a fitting and well-earned tribute to his impact on UW-Madison.

John C. Wiley, Chancellor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
February 28, 2006

Dear Irv,

Just a word of personal gratitude to you on the occasion of the dedication of the Shain Research Tower. As someone said, "At my age, all my friends are either streets or buildings!"

You have been a part of my professorial and administrative career almost from the beginning. You were chair when I received my invitation to join the faculty, you were chancellor when I received my first full-time administrative position, and you have been a faithful and important member of the Letters and Science Board of Visitors.

We both can recall the many times when I did not take your advice, but the important thing to me is that you always took me seriously enough to give me thoughtful advice.

I spent many years working to see the Shain Research Tower become a reality, from the time when I was Chemistry chair through the time when I was dean. I can't think of a more fitting name to adorn the building than yours.

All the best,
Phil Certain, Dean, College of Letters and Science, 1993-2004
University of Wisconsin-Madison
March 8, 2006

Irv,

It has been decades since we corresponded, but I MUST send you my sincere congrats on this recognition at Wisconsin. I am sure that you are being recognized at UW for your leadership there, but I will remember you always for your leadership in science, electrochemistry in particular. You deserve a CV inscribed on your tower!

I do hope that you and those you love are healthy and enjoying life in it's autumn. That's important for us old farts. I am reasonably healthy (warm at least) and still working with a lab full of grad students. I won't bore you with my latest excitements in nanoparticles.

Certain's letter to you prompts me to tell you about an undergraduate student who did research in my lab, went off and got a Ph.D. with Mark Wightman, worked in big pharma and formed his own company, and then sold it for about 100M$. He liked my teaching, and now there is a a Murray Quad at UNC courtesy of his gifts. So I know how VERY satisfying it is to have a part of an institution that you give your life and loyalty to, that will recall you in your name. You are honored, and deserve it, and you should ENJOY it!

With very best wishes,
Royce W. Murray, Kenan Professor of Chemistry
University of North Carolina
March 16, 2006

Irv,

You may not recall the impression you made on a young (32 year old) internal auditor who you and Vice Chancellor Len Van Ess had enough faith in to promote to Director of Business Services. But I remember well the "final" interview I underwent to obtain the position.

It was a dinner with you and Vice Chancellor Van Ess at Quivey's Grove. The dinner was set for 6 pm following a day long Regent meeting at which a number of UW-Madison issues were on the table. You arrived looking worn; I understand you never really relished that role of being in the public eye at the Regent meetings. The three of us sat down for dinner and you and I argued at rather high volume about the best approach to convince the Research Administration - Financial office, which was part of the Division I was to head, to stop using memory typewriters and instead to use new fangled word processors. I argued for the slow introduction of the equipment with individual successes drawing the whole department into the technology. You argued for just replacing all the equipment and forcing everyone to use it. We went on for an hour or more. Len just watched in amazement.

I knew, then and there, that you were someone I could work with. I've never been a "yes" man and wasn't about to start being one. You obviously felt the same way about me. Len offered me the job the next day. And the rest is history.

That night plays back to me frequently and encourages me to always be willing to challenge and be challenged. Change happens because of those who think outside the box and challenge what others may think.

We worked through many administrative struggles and I always admired your leadership. I attribute to you a major part in making and keeping UW-Madison a world class research university.

Don Miner, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Services
University of Wisconsin-Madison
March 19, 2006

Irv,

From a Friend and Colleague - Remarkable Parallels Going Back Long Ago

This gives me an occasion to touch bases with you after a long number of years. Irv, we go back a very long time. What you may not remember is the remarkable parallel in our histories and careers. Also some other items.

1. Thus, we were born in the same year.
2. We both served in the U.S. Army in WWII.
3. We both got our B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the same years (1950 and 1953)
4. We both took just three years for the Ph.D.
5. We both ended up at Wisconsin, a truism.
6. We both bought the first mini-computers in the Chemistry Dept, a Ratheon for you and a DEC PDP8/I for me.
7. We were close friends with frequent social contacts between Milli & You and Jane & me.
8. We had similar views regarding unrest on campus in those difficult days.

Our careers began to diverge a bit when you became Chemistry Department Chairman. Your being an analytical chemist with me being an organic chemist was never a source of divergence. I appreciated your chemistry. You probably don't remember it, but you once said a good thing about me was that I didn't keep a grudge (that may be true to a point). Our careers diverged further when you eventually became Chancellor. But, what I felt we had in common was good judgment.

So after all these years, I'm still and a non-Emeritus Professor and you are a well-known Professor and Administrator.

You can see that I've emphasized our early years at Wisconsin while I suspect most will emphasize your more recent career. If this is living in the past, it is a pleasant thing.

Irv, the above says it all -- I've admired you and your career.

With warmest wishes,
Howard E. Zimmerman, Arthur C. Cope and Hilldale Professor of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
March 22, 2006

Dear Irv,

As a Wisconsin graduate (B.A. 1948), I have had the pleasure of knowing and knowing of you over the years. You have done a great job for the U.W. and it is very fitting that the new Chemistry Tower be named after you. Congratulations!

The part of the campus in which it is located has special significance to me since I was a Chemistry major, and the nearby Noland Hall of Zoology, which is named after my father, Lowell E. Noland, is just across Johnson Street from the Chemistry complex. My sister, Ruth Noland Campbell, who now lives in rural Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, was a Zoology Major at the U.W. My mother, Ruth Chase Noland, met my father when they graduate students together in the Zoology Department at U.W. Her father, after whom I am named, was Wayland Johnson Chase, a Professor of the History of Education at the U.W., so my roots go back deeply to the U.W. Now, as you know, I am a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota.

I still have fond memories of our shared visit to a faculty orientation program sponsored by General Mills, Inc. at their guest house (which, unfortunately, has since been destroyed by fire) on Wondra Isle on Rainy Lake in the north woods of Minnesota. It gave us an opportunity to get better acquainted and to share our mutual enjoyment of fishing. Going back to my Madison memories, I can recall well my acquaintance with your two predecessors whose names you will share on the buildings of the Chemistry complex. Prof. J. Howard Mathews lived on Lathrop Street (at the corner of Hoyt Street), diagonally across the block from where my parents and sister lived, at 1723 Summit Avenue, in University Heights. I attended the U.W. during his long tenure as Chairman of the Chemistry Department, and was a student in the Physical Chemistry course which he and Robert Alberty taught. Farrington Daniels and his family were friends of my parents, and their younger son, Dorin (now an M.D. practicing medicine in Ontario, Oregon, at my last report) and I were classmates at Wisconsin High School and partners in the debating team that got into the state tournament. Through such connections, I had the opportunity to visit with the Daniels family at their summer home on Lake Michigan, near Jacksonport in Door County Wisconsin.

I am sorry that I cannot be with you at the dedication, but I'll be with you in spirit.

Kindest regards,
Wayland E. Noland, Professor of Chemistry
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
March 22, 2006

Dear Irv,

There are many kind things I could say about you and the impact you had on the reputation of the Chemistry Department at Wisconsin as well as my own career here. I know that when you started building the Analytical Division back in 1964, you considered making it an Electro-analytical Research Institute with an emphasis on fundament studies involving electrochemistry – your area of expertise. You wisely did not do that, however; you searched for a diverse group that would approach fundamental analytical from a variety of perspectives. If you had not done this, I would not have come to Wisconsin in 1966 and had the career that I have had. That decision had a major impact on the way that analytical chemistry is practiced in this country as well as in the whole world. We can look with pride on the many graduate students who have completed their work here and have gone on to a variety of academic, industrial, and government positions secure in the knowledge that they are capable of thinking outside a single discipline to solve the major and significant problems that are thrown in their paths or that they devise for their own professional careers. I can point to 50 of my own students who finished here with a broad exposure to analytical as well as to materials science.

Three distinguishing characteristics of an analytical graduate of Wisconsin have been: 1) the ability to think clearly on their feet when confronted with a new problem; 2) the ability to communicate clearly and concisely in both written and verbal form; and 3) the ability to teach themselves the new things they need to learn to accomplish at the next higher level. The groundwork that you laid to achieve that was clearly articulated when I was hired. I believed it, and it was taken to heart by everyone that was hired in the Analytical Division thereafter.

I know others will comment on your foresight in creating the Research Park when you were Chancellor, but there is another little-known action that you also took that saved a major research resource on this campus. Back in the commissioning phase of the Aladdin storage ring at the Synchrotron Radiation Center, our scientists were having trouble getting the new microtron electron source to work properly. The National Science Foundation, under the incompetent direction of its Director, Erich Bloch, proposed shutting down the facility. You called a group of us in and asked if we felt we could succeed with just a little more time. We said yes, and you made $1.0 M available from WARF plus the services of as many UW scientists as you could persuade to help. We found the problem. The injector device was made to work, and NSF restored the funding. I have always considered those as two “miracles”. That encouragement was indicative of the confidence you radiated in our ability to succeed and be competitive in outside funding. Your contribution was in 1984, and the SRC has continued to be a major resource for the campus until this day – not bad for long-term funding of any facility.

I also appreciated your support when I became associated with and chaired the Materials Science Program and tried to bring analytical approaches to the studies of materials, including photoresists. These polymeric materials were important to the Olin Corporation when you were associated with them. It was very hard to get funding for fundamental studies of resists so that we understood the photochemistry and kinetics that were involved with the formation of the small images that were important to micro- and, eventually, nano-circuit manufacture. Your push to provide some “seed” funding from Olin provided the basis for many years of the Department of Defense, through DARPA, funding of the Center for NanoTechnology at the Synchrotron Radiation Center. The X-rays from the Aladdin storage rings were ideal for controlling the energy to the resists, and the tools provided by DARPA funding allowed some significant understanding of the kinetics of chemically-amplified resists. For that “seed” and the confidence that it inspired, I thank you.

Finally, I would like to second the remark by my friend, John Wiley. You are indeed “one of the most consistently influential figures in the history of the University of Wisconsin”, and I am proud to acknowledge the influence that you have had on Chemistry as well as on my life and my career here.

With a great deal of appreciation,
James W. Taylor, John Bascom Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
University of Wisconsin-Madison
March 27, 2006

Dear Irv,

Congratulations and thank you on the occasion of the dedication of the Irving Shain Chemistry Research Tower.

Congratulations on a well deserved honor; thank you for your guidance and help during my student days and for your friendship ever since. As a graduate student, good in the classroom but immature in research, I felt so challenged by your description of polarography and its problems that I had no choice but to pursue it further. You were the ideal mentor, steering me to a lifetime career in electrochemical and corrosion research.

Since graduating 50 years ago, I have followed your career, confident that your quality science, inspirational teaching, and understanding demeanor would carry you far.

It is indeed a thrill to learn that this honor is being bestowed on you.

Best regards,
Bob Frankenthal, Ph.D. '56
March 27, 2006

Dear Irv,

I would like to personally thank you for your efforts on my behalf while I was the Glass Technician in the Chemistry Department during your tenure as Department Head. Your insight into the future of the Glass Shop determined that starting an apprenticeship program would enhance the abilities and productivity of the facility. The first apprentice, my son Mike, after succeeding me for several years, went on to a very successful career as Glass Technician at the Arizona State University glass shop. He, in turn, apprenticed two other glass blowers, one of them being his daughter, Christi. So, you see, you enabled a DYNASTY of glass blowers in the Wheeler family, I don’t believe the craft will end there, as there are several grandsons coming of age who might continue wrestling with the hot glass.

You may think I have forgotten what you said when I approached you about hiring Mike, but I haven’t…..you said, “Are you sure you want to work with your kid? We will reserve the right to keep either you or him after he finishes his apprenticeship!” We showed you, though, because four years later, you kept both of us.

My twenty one years as Glass Technician are the brightest spots in my career, and I appreciate the complete acceptance of me and my family by the Chemistry Department, and in particular I treasure my personal relationship and contact with you.

Joe Wheeler, Glass Technician, retired
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Department
March 29, 2006

Dear Irv,

It is very appropriate that the other U.W. is honoring you in this way. Of course, your career and many contributions to our science and your administrative leadership are well known. My remembrances of you go back to my graduate school days in the 1960s at the University of Maryland (as a classmate of Bassam Shakhashiri’s). My Ph.D. dissertation dealt with the polarography of selenium, which as you know from personal experience, is a challenging beast. I devoted over a page of my thesis to “I. Shain, private communication,” citing oscillographic studies from your lab (I think maybe Dick Nicholson’s work) that you had told Bill Purdy about, who relayed it to me. This work has apparently remained unpublished, and I attach those pages for the record (maybe your last scientific “publication”?). Those pages are retyped since those were the days of mimeographed theses, not electronic format!

Your roots, of course, go back to our U.W. where you received your Ph.D. degree with Lou Crittenden. Your first paper, with Lou, was “Application of the cathode-ray polarography to rotating platinum electrodes” in 1954! Your other connection is when we momentarily attracted you back to our U.W. as Provost in 1975. This was a few years after I landed here (back home to my native Northwest), and I was very pleased. But, of course, the other U.W. was able to bring you back as Chancellor, a loss for us and huge gain for them.

Have a great time at the festivities.

With best wishes,
Gary Christian, Professor of Chemistry, Divisional Dean of Sciences Emeritus
University of Washington
March 29, 2006

Dear Prof. Shain:

I have recommended your 1964 paper with Nicholson on electrochemistry to my co-workers since it appeared and wish to add my congratulations to the many you have received for the honor of having the building named after you. It will be a lasting reminder of your many contributions to the University of Wisconsin.

Stephen J. Lippard, Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
April 2, 2006

Dear Irv,

What a nice and well-deserved tribute you are about to receive. It seems impossibly long ago that we were both plying the electroanalytical seas; you more professionally than I, which I always attributed to your experience in the military as well as your superior abilities. I still recall my review of the first, monumental Nicholson-Shain manuscript for Anal. Chem. I remember stating that it was not too short but that it was going to do for electrochemistry something like what Einstein did for physics. I wasn't far from the mark.

Having served as an academic administrator for more years than I choose to recall, I know that it isn't as easy as it looks, and that your amazing successes at Madison were truly remarkable. That makes it all the more enjoyable to learn about the honors that have and will be bestowed on you.

As a gesture of admiration and respect, and despite almost irresistible temptation, I have decided not to send to the celebration committee the wonderful photo I have of you in your pajamas reclining on one of the tiny beds that you, Harry, Mark, and I had to contend with when we attended the meeting in that ancient castle in Smolenice, Czechoslovakia. It is a classic likeness of a wonderful friend, chemist, and academic/industrial giant.

I regret not being able to join in the festivities in May, but you can be sure that I will be there in spirit. With all best wishes to you and to Millie.

Fred Anson, Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
California Institute of Technology
April 3, 2006

I will be happy to attend the Dedication Ceremony of the Shain Research Tower of the Chemistry Building. When I was a graduate student there working for John Ferry, Irv joined the chemistry staff as an instructor in analytical chemistry. Meloche was one of the few profs who joined the students for coffee in the morning at a cafe across the street from the old chemistry building. Irv would join us from time to time Little did I know (or did he know) that one day a research tower would be dedicated there in his honor.

Malcolm Williams
April 3, 2006

Dear Irv,

Your accomplishments and vision as a researcher in Electrochemistry, as Chairman of the Chemistry Department, and as Chancellor of the University all are noteworthy; they do indeed merit the Chemistry Building Tower dedicated with your name on it. All of us who have known you personally and seen you in action are happy to see this. Through it all, you never lost the "common touch" even after a long tenure as chancellor.

I still marvel at your "podium expertise" while conducting Faculty Senate business. Congratulations on a meaningful career to the benefit of all of us and Wisconsin.

With best wishes for the future to you and your family,
Stan Langer, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Emeritus
University of Wisconsin-Madison
April 3, 2006

Dear Irv:

I'm very glad of the chance to add a few words to the many that have already been written by way of congratulations to you on the occasion of the dedication of the Chemistry Building Tower. It is a very impressive kind of recognition; after all, buildings are there for a long time, and they are the very core of what is needed to do science.

You have had a great career: as a scientist, teacher, and administrator in many different roles. Not many can claim to have covered all those bases with such distinction. I believe our paths first crossed when you were chair of the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for Chemistry, and I was appointed to that group. I recall that one of our meetings was held at the University of Wisconsin Madison campus, in Chemistry department spaces. It was one of my earliest involvements with advisory committee sorts of things, and I picked up some good pointers on how to run meetings from watching you. I put them to good use later in my own career as I moved into administrative roles. In fact, you have been a mentor and exemplar for a great many people, Irv. I'm sure that this sentiment would be echoed by the likes of Rich Nicholson, who has had his own great career as a science administrator and leader, as well as many others.

You have also set a high standard and example for those who are advancing in age, and need to think about what comes next. The message you have sent us is that there is always a new, worthwhile and challenging opportunity - just go out there and look for it. So I have been doing that, perhaps more enthusiastically than I need to, but that is matter for another time.

I'm sorry I won't be able to be present for the dedication. In part it is because I am following in your example: giving an invited talk, and traveling in connection with a new book project. I'm sure it will be a great day for your and your family, as well as for your larger chemical science family at Madison.

Warm Regards,
Ted Brown, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
Founding Director Emeritus, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
April 9, 2006

Dear Irv,

Since I cannot be there in person for the dedication ceremonies, I wanted to express to you my pride in having been one of your students. It is so cool to have your own chemistry building!

Despite the years, I remember very clearly how excited we were when our group moved from the old chemistry building to the (then) new one. I can picture vividly in my mind your new office, the labs, everything. I never imagined then that in the future there would be a new building, with your name on it, filled with eager young chemists like us. But you know, if someone at the time told me this would happen, I would not have been surprised, because I knew even then you were no ordinary man.

Just thinking of this brings back so many memories. Remember when you got Prof. Chuck Curtis to let us use the Theoretical Chemistry Institute's new computer-a Bendix based on a rotating magnet drum! That's when we started to work seriously on the problem of cyclic voltammetry. And the conference room on our floor where I had my oral the day JFK was shot. Remember that?

I hope during the ceremonies you are able to soak up everything people will say about you, and the memories that will come flooding back.

Rich Nicholson, Executive Officer Emeritus
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1964
April 11, 2006

Dear Irv,

Congratulations on the occasion of the dedication of the Irving Shain Chemistry Research Tower. Many have benefited from your leadership as a scientist, teacher, and administrator. This honor is a fitting tribute to you and your life's work.

We at Olin Corporation appreciate your contributions as a member of the Board of Directors for 14 years. Additionally, we were honored when you chose to continue your career as Corporate Vice President and Chief Scientist following your retirement from the University of Wisconsin. Your wisdom and leadership guided Olin Corporation through many changes during your terms of service.

Best wishes upon this well-deserved tribute,

Sincerely,
Joseph D. Rupp, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Olin Corporation
May 2, 2006

Dear Chancellor Shain,

What a wonderful opportunity for us to send you best wishes as this delightful facility is opened.

UW-Madison is a great place of learning because of the many fine leaders and the many fine teachers who are here. You have been a wonderful leader, and if I knew anything about chemistry, I’m sure I would say the same about your teaching.

I have fond memories of “representing” you as Chancellor and many others at the UW-Madison in the 1980’s and they are all pleasant. My two sons are UW-Madison graduates, and they tell me that just to say they are from the UW carries a lot of weight in the job market.

I left the Department of Justice in the late 1980’s and spent 12 years in private practice before returning to DOJ in 1999. I am indeed fortunate that I can continue to work with the many fine folks at UW-Madison.

God bless you (can we say that on a public email?) and many thanks for your contributions to this fine university and this wonderful city.

Sincerely,
Jack Sweeney, Assistant Attorney General
Wisconsin Department of Justice
May 4, 2006

Dear Chancellor Shain:

As one of the first group of students from China in 1979, I have always had the great respect for you as the leader of one of the greatest universities in the world and as a friend to Chinese. You were a pioneer in opening academic doors to China and instrumental to receiving the largest Chinese student population at UW-Madison for over a decade. Your vision has paved the way of nourishing a generation of scholars and researchers of Chinese origin and inspired many of my fellow students, either settling in the US or returning to China. I am pleased to report to you that UW-Madison now has over 60 tenure track Chinese faculty, as well as numerous researchers and staff members. At the personal level, you were highly regarded as a friend and mentor to all of us. When my father passed away in 1980, a time when there was not even cross-Pacific airline service available, you, Mrs. Margaret Johnson and the late Dean Bock used your personal fund to buy me round-trip tickets to attend my father's funeral. I will never forget this.

I am hoping my reminiscence complements the tributes you have received at this great moment of UW history. I consider my wife Jia Ling Lin (Physics 1987) and myself lucky enough to reside in Madison and be able to occasionally see you and Mrs. Shain in good health and high spirits.

With warmest regards,
Li Li Ji, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Kinesiology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
May 4, 2006

Dear Irv,

It is wonderful to see that your extensive, career-long contributions to our university are being so widely recognized and honored. You have had major, positive impacts at so many levels: as Analytical Division Chair, as a leading electrochemist, as Chancellor, as Research Park creator, and as the person most responsible for the current directions and health of both the medical school and the synchrotron facility. Your leadership within Chemistry led to an analytical group like no other that has had tremendous success; our graduate students have been very successful in a wide variety of excellent academic and industrial settings. The diversity of their training and experience led to remarkable abilities as problem solvers that have been evident in a number of settings. That diversity is linked directly to you and your vision for the division at that time.

On a more personal note, when I came to Wisconsin to work with John Ferry it was to be for a short time only, just long enough for me to confirm or negate my thesis results via a different experiment; these results had led to a strong disagreement between myself and Nobel prize winner Paul Flory. ( It turned out that he was wrong.) However, I was so impressed with the genuine scholarship, lack of inflated egos, and dedication to science that I saw in you, John Ferry, John Willard, Joe Hirschfelder, Dick Bernstein and Paul Bender that, when I was scheduled to leave, I decided to stay in Madison rather than join the faculty at Princeton.

In summary, I believe that you have been one of the most influential people ever associated with our University, and that your decisions and guidance have played a major role in achieving the outstanding reputation as a research institution that it has today. We are indeed fortunate and very grateful to have had your leadership and input over the years.

With gratitude and best regards,
John L. Schrag, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
May 4, 2006

Each fall the Chancellor invites new faculty to share an evening at Olin house. I vividly remember the day I, as a new assistant professor was welcomed by Irv and Millie Shain because the same day Chancellor Shain announced he would be stepping down as Chancellor. As I was welcomed by many deans and department chairs, I listened to many stories about the extraordinary legacy of visionary leadership that Chancellor Shain would leave behind. I felt disappointment that I would not have the opportunity to get to know him better.

Little did I know then that I would have the opportunity to know Irv and Millie in my current capacity as Dean of the School of Human Ecology. During 2003 the school celebrated its centennial. I learned at that time what a pivotal role Chancellor Shain played in establishing Human Ecology as a free standing school on the campus. He clearly understood the school's mission and respected the scholarship of the faculty. The decision to emancipate the school, was certainly one of the most important in our 100-year history.

I have also had the recent opportunity to know Irv and Millie on a more personal level. They remain extraordinary supporters of the University and their lives continue to exemplify commitment to family and community. I feel privileged to enjoy their support and friendship. I add my congratulations to them both on lives well lived. The university community was and continues to be the fortunate beneficiary of their support and leadership.

Robin A. Douthitt, Dean and Vaughan-Bascom Professor of Women and Philanthropy
School of Human Ecology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
May 5, 2006

Irv,

It has been 50+ years since Barbara and I had the fun of challenging you to a game of Pinochle at lunch. We have not played since then! Congratulations on the esteem that you have obtained from your career at UW and especially the honor of your name being coupled with Daniels and Mathews. They certainly ranked high during my days at Madison and you deserve the equal rank.

When I look back I realize Meloche and you provided me with the opportunity to be successful. Thank you for the support that you provided to a very innocent and naïve graduate student in the early 1950’s. While I am a long way from Analytical Chemistry my career has been extremely successful and satisfying. After two years in Analytical Chemistry at Los Alamos, I switched to a group involved in the phenomena of explosive behavior and was lucky to be in at the ground floor. I am still active as a consultant to the Department of Energy in safety of operations involving explosives.

Congratulations from an individual, who has not had the opportunity to visit with you in several years, but still considers you a significant contributor to my career, a scholar, and as a friend.

John B. Ramsay, Ph.D. ‘55

P.S. I was pleased to be reminded of Bob Frankenthal in the list of kudos. A contemporary of mine, and your first graduate student.

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