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Dear Blochemlkers: December 1984
Keeping In touch Is difficult. The longer that elapses between letters, the more there Is to tell,
and the harder It Is to remember a I I that has happened since last we wrote. That Is even more the case
when the "family" Is an extended one such as our department. We nevertheless thought that you'd like to
know what we've been up to since you left Purdue, and so, with apologies for the many omissions, these
are some of the Items we hope you find of Interest. ' *
Steven Bearing, former Dean of Medicine at Indiana, accepted the Presidency of Purdue In July
1983. Elwyn Sctoall retired as State Chemist In July 1983 and was replaced by Alan Hanks. Alan
Joined us from Texas A & M, where you may recall Purdue's former President, Art Hansen, now Is
President. This change should help the Indiana state budget, as Alan tells us the State Chemist does not
make nearly the salary of the President of A & M. We have a new Director and Assistant Director of the Ag
Experiment Station In Bill Satssgardt and Vic Lechtenberg. Closer to home, Mark Hermodson
became Head of the Department of Biochemistry In July 1981 when Don Carlson stepped down to devote
more time to research and teaching. Karl Brandt had been serving as an Associate Dean of the Graduate
School, but In Fall 1984 became Dean of Resident Instruction of the School of Agriculture. This Is a
full-time post, so Karl Is no longer directing a research group. We have a new Assistant Professor,
David Kakn, from the U. of California, Davis, by way of Prof. Klaus Halbrock's laboratory In Germany.
He studies molecular responses to Infection In plants and the regulation of the lipid biosynthesis In oil
seeds. The Department Is also actively seeking additional new faculty members at the present time.
Don Carlson was elected Secretary of the A.S.B.C. for 3 years and President of the Society for
Complex Carbohydrates for 1984. Since the ASBC Secretary Is also the Program Chair, Don Is busy
preparing for the 1985 Anaheim meeting. You now know who to complain to If you don't like the program!
Don Is also completing his second year as Chair of the Physiological Chemistry Study Section at the NIH
and Just accepted membership In the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Medical Advisory Council. He Is
also the first (1983) reclptent of the John A. Boezi Memorial Alumnus Award In Biochemistry from his alma
mater, Michigan State. Apart from becoming a grandfather, however, Don's biggest thrill is the
completion of the sequence of a prollne-rlch protein gene from mouse by David Ann.
Vic Rodwell was awarded the Purdue Alumni Association "Helping Students Learn Award" for 1983
for his work with the minority student research program. He Is a member of the MARC (Minority Access to
Research Careers) Review Panel of the NIH. Vic also recently became a grandfather when his son (Eric)
and daughter-in-law (Dodl) presented him with twin grandchildren - a boy and a girl. Claudia Kent
and Jack Dixon were married way back In July 1981. They now have a new son, Jesse, born In Sep¬
tember, to keep their daughter Sarah (age 1.5) company. Hank Welner has been appointed to the
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Study Section and has, In addition, received the
Senior Scientist Award from the NIAAA, the 4th recipient of the award. Two of our faculty - Ron
Soaervllle and Klaus Herrmann - are coauthors of a book "Amino Acids: Biosynthesis and Genetic
Regulation" that appeared In September 1983.
Keeping up with the doings of our many former students Is both exciting and complicated. We have
continued to graduate Ph.D.'s although these now are graduates of the PUB Program rather than of the
Department per se. Since some of you are former classmates of our 1980-84 graduates, here Is what we
know of their whereabouts and doings In the world of science and the world at large.
We have some news of graduates of former days, and welcome Information from you for future letters.
Richard ttoneycutt (1971) has assumed managerial duties at Clba-Gelgy Corporation. Steve Berg
(1975) is Chair of the Biology Department at the University of Denver and continues to publish on photo¬
synthesis. Frank Berger (1974), now a mouse geneticist, recently Joined the faculty of the RoswelI
Park Memorial Cancer Institute where he had been a postdoc. Joe NcCray (1974) Is still waltzing In
Vienna, Ron Schoner (1976) has been driving his sports car to the Ell Lilly Research Labs in
Indianapolis, and Russ McCandllss (1978) Is cloning away at Genex in Maryland. David Camlchael
(1979) Is now with Synergen In Boulder, Colorado. Stan Bower (1982) a postdoc with Robert Swltzer,
Dept. of Blochemlsty, U. of Illinois, has become a legend In the Urbana pubs. Gregg Bogoslan
(1983), a postdoc at U. of North Carolina, will become a Senior Scientist at Monsanto In St. Louis In
April, 1985. The Bogoslans' had a son, Ethan, In 1983.
Kat Brechllng (1983) Is a Staff Fellow, NIH, Bethesda. Jawed Ala* (1983) Is In the Dept. of
Genetics, North Carolina State University. Willis Brown (1981) has completed his postdoc at
Washington State U. and has returned to West Lafayette where he Is a postdoc In the lab of Jeff Bennetzen