Deaths |
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November 23, 2010, Volume 57, No. 13 |
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Mr. Bass, Wharton
Myles Bass, longtime lecturer at the Wharton School, died October 1 of lung cancer. He was 71.
Born in Camden, NJ, Mr. Bass graduated from the former Bordentown Military Academy in 1956. He attended Dickinson College before transferring to Rutgers University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in social science.
Since 1962, he ran his own tutoring company, MLB Tutoring, Co., where he helped students prepare for the SATs, LSATS and medical board exams. He continued to teach until two weeks before his death.
Mr. Bass taught courses in management and entrepreneurship at the Wharton School from 1977-2001.
He was the recipient of the William G. Whitney Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching in the Affiliated Faculty in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Mr. Bass is survived by his wife, Marianne; son, Michael and daughter, Rachel.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1851 Old Cuthbert Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034.
Dr. Gewirtz, Hematology-Oncology
Dr. Alan Gewirtz, the C. Willard Robinson Professor of Hematology-Oncology at the School of Medicine, passed away November 17; he was 61.
Dr. Gewirtz earned his AB in marine biology from Colgate University in 1971 and his MD and MA in microbiology from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1976.
Dr. Gewirtz came to Penn following his tenure at Temple University from 1984-90.
A distinguished scientist, physician and author, Dr. Gewirtz’s research focused on the cell biology of normal and malignant human hematopoiesis and his goal was to advance the development of more effective, and less toxic therapies for human leukemia. He was the recipient of the Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award and Philadelphia Magazine included him in their 2010 listing of “Top Docs.” Dr. Gewirtz served on a number of editorial boards and reviewed manuscripts for numerous scientific journals. In addition, he was a member of the Medical/Scientific Advisory Committee of the Leukemia Society of America and was a National Trustee of the organization. He was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 1990.
Dr. Gewirtz is survived by his children, Jamie Gewirtz and Emily Stiebel; brothers, Elliot, Henry and David; and granddaughter, Jane.
Donations may be made to the Alan Gewirtz Leukemia Research Fund, c/o the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market St. Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Dr. Chance, Biochemistry & Biophysics
Dr. Britton Chance, for more than 50 years one of the giants of biochemistry and biophysics and a world leader in transforming theoretical science into useful biomedical and clinical applications, died on November 16, at age 97. Dr. Chance, The Eldridge Reeves Johnson Emeritus Professor of Biophysics, Physical Chemistry, and Radiologic Physics, had the rare distinction of being the recipient of a National Medal of Science (1974), and a Gold Medal in the Olympics (1952, Sailing, Men’s 5½ Meter Class), and a Certificate of Merit for his sensitive work during World War II. He also was rare in being elected not only to the U.S. National Academy of Science but also to foreign academies such as The Royal Society of London and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. England and Sweden were countries where he did seminal and formative research.
Dr. Chance was known for his amazingly broad range of interests, his long history of fruitful collaboration with scientists, here at Penn and all around the globe, and his unflagging energy. Even in his late 80s and early 90s, Dr. Chance could be spotted riding his bicycle on campus, arriving at his laboratory in the early morning. For him, “emeritus” certainly did not mean inactive or inattentive. As he once told The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Art Carey, “Retire? Why would I do that? I enjoy research and I work with a wonderful crew. I like the excitement of new discoveries, moving ahead, finding out new things.” In 2001, still in pursuit of new things, Dr. Chance unveiled a detection technique, developed with collaborators at Penn and Harvard, that uses fluorescent molecules to track and illuminate malignant cells in the breast. Even more recently, he was part of a team that proposed developing a portable, real-time system for monitoring and imaging brain function.
Dr. Chance was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Haverford. Growing up, he developed a passion for sailing and early on displayed an uncanny knack for invention. These interests came together early; when as a teenager he invented and patented a novel automatic ship steering device that he later was contracted by the British General Electric Company to test in a 20,000 ton freighter between England and Australia. His passion for sailing never waned. “I wouldn’t be without sailing,” he told The Scientist. “That would be unendurable for me.” In the same way, his skills with electro-optical devices would serve the instrumentation and the biomedical research communities and his country to the end of his long working life.
In 1935, Dr. Chance earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. As a graduate student at Penn, he developed a microflow version of a stop-flow apparatus to study enzyme mechanisms, observing their changing compositions in the millisecond times. Back in England, Dr. Chance worked with the originators of the flow apparatus technique at Cambridge University. With these unique instruments he made important research contributions, fundamental and applied: he demonstrated the long-predicted but never-seen enzyme-substrate complex, which explains why he named his yachts Complex I and so on. He discovered that biological electron transfer—vital to respiration, photosynthesis, and oxidative metabolism—was quantum-mechanical tunneling, an understanding that now underpins engineering of nanoscale electronic devices. Dr. Chance played a pivotal role in determining bioenergetic activities in cells. These discoveries culminated in the 1980s in his pioneering work in magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging in humans, and in the 1990s in his initiating the application of near-infrared optics for the clinical diagnosis of breast cancer, muscle dynamics, and cognition. His pioneering research transformed the field of biomedical optics.
Upon his return to the United States from Cambridge University, Dr. Chance became a fellow in Penn’s Eldridge Reeves Johnson Foundation for Research in Medical Physics, where he completed his first study on enzyme kinetics. He earned his PhD degree in physical chemistry in 1940. Two years later, he received a second doctorate—in biology and physiology—from Cambridge. When the United States entered World War II, Dr. Chance was recruited to MIT to work in its Radiation Laboratory, as part of a secret team focused on developing and enhancing radar. Despite his relative youth, he became a group leader and, later, a member of the steering committee; by the time he left the laboratory, he was supervising some 300 people. During that time, he also invented a “ground position indicator” for more accurate bombing. For his work in this field, Dr. Chance was awarded the President’s Certificate of Merit in 1950.
As the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, Dr. Chance spent two years at Sweden’s Nobel Institute and at Cambridge studying enzymes. In 1949, back at Penn as professor of biophysics and physical biochemistry, Dr. Chance was appointed to director of the Johnson Foundation. Under Dr. Chance, the foundation was widely recognized as a stimulating research environment. He held the position until 1983. For part of that time, he also served as chair of the department of biophysics and physical biochemistry. In 1964, he was named the Eldridge Reeves Johnson Professor. In the 1990s, Dr. Chance was director of the Institute for Biophysical and Biomedical Research, part of the University City Science Center; and in 1998, he became president of the Medical Diagnostic Research Foundation.
Dr. Chance’s earlier work on enzymes was fundamental to the understanding of how oxygen is used in the body to provide energy and to a broader knowledge of the diseases that result from a lack of energy. He also invented the dual-wavelength spectrophotometer, and his other discoveries formed the basis for the glucosometers in use today. More recently, turning his attention to optical diagnostics, he remained very active. Dr. Mark Lemmon, Penn’s chair of biophysics and biochemistry, notes that Dr. Chance was continuously funded for 70 years and several papers were published in 2010. Over his career, Dr. Chance had six papers that reached more than 1,000 citations.
These contributions did not go unnoticed. Apart from foreign membership in the academies of many countries, Dr. Chance has received honorary degrees from Penn and several other international universities. Other honors included the Franklin Medal from Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute; the Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics from the Netherlands Academy of Science and Letters; the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences, given by the American Philosophical Society (for which he served as vice president); and the Christopher Columbus Discovery Award in Biomedical Research, from the National Institutes of Health. In 1995, the University of Pennsylvania named the Stellar-Chance Laboratories partly in his honor (Almanac May 2, 1995).
Dr. Chance married Dr. Shoko Nioka, a longtime research associate in biochemistry and biophysics, in February, 2010, in a traditional Chinese ceremony in the Taiwanese city of Tainan. In addition to Dr. Nioka, he is survived by two former wives and 16 children and step-children, 27 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
Gifts in Dr. Chance’s memory may be made to the Johnson Research Foundation, payable to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine Development, Suite 750, 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309.
A memorial service to honor Dr. Chance and his accomplishments is being planned for early in the new year.
Dr. Isard, Regional Science
Dr. Walter Isard, former professor of regional science in the School of Arts and Sciences, died November 6 at age 91.
Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Isard earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Temple University and then a doctoral degree in economics from Harvard University.
Credited for establishing the field of regional science, Dr. Isard came to Penn in 1956 after serving on the faculty at MIT. While at Penn, he formed the graduate group in regional science and then the department of regional science in 1959. He also founded the Journal of Regional Science.
His additional research included conflict management and resolution, disarmament and peace science. He founded the Peace Research Society, later renamed the Peace Science Society, and founded the Graduate Group in Peace Science at Penn.
Dr. Isard left Penn in 1979 and went to Cornell University, where he continued to teach until this past summer. Penn’s regional science department was closed in the mid-1990s.
The author of 300 published papers and well over a dozen books, Dr. Isard received numerous honorary degrees and the Regional Science Association’s Founder’s Medal is named in his honor.
Dr. Isard is survived by his wife, Caroline; sons, Peter, Michael, Arthur and Scott; daughters, Toni Yagoda and Anni; a sister; 12 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1403.
To Report A Death
Almanac appreciates being informed of the deaths of current and former faculty and staff members, students, and other members of the University community.
However, notices of alumni deaths should be directed to the Alumni Records Office at Room 545, Franklin Building, (215) 898-8136 or e-mail record@ben.dev.upenn.edu. |
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