PEOPLE
OBITUARIES Tom A. Bither Jr., 92, a DuPont research
chemist, died on Jan. 5. Born in Berkeley, Calif., Bither earned a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1939 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale University in 1942. During World War II, he worked on the Manhattan Project. Bither began his career in DuPont’s Central Research Department, in Wilmington, Del., where he worked as a research chemist for 40 years, focusing primarily on inorganic chemistry. When he retired in 1982, he held numerous patents and had published papers on magnetic materials, oxide superconductors, catalysis, and highpressure chemical synthesis. Bither was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1941. He was also a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa. After retiring, he researched family genealogy, studied Spanish, traveled, and played golf as a member of the DuPont Country Club. He is survived by three daughters, Anne Reynolds, Catherine Greco, and Barbara; six grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter. Bither’s wife, Margaret, died three years ago. Sir Allen McClay, 78, founder of Almac, a
fine chemicals contract manufacturing and services firm in Northern Ireland, died of cancer on Jan. 12. At the time of his death, McClay was hospitalized in Philadelphia. He had been attending the company’s quarterly board meeting at its U.S. corporate headquarters in Audubon, Pa., when he became ill in early November 2009. Recognized as an innovator in building a broad-based services company focused on serving the pharmaceuticals industry, McClay will also be remembered as an entrepreneur and industrialist who launched and nurtured a successful high-tech company near strife-torn Belfast. For his accomplishment, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005. McClay formed Almac after retiring from his original venture, Galen Holdings, which he launched in 1968. Galen had gone public in 1997 and was purchased by Warner Chilcott. That drug firm turned the company toward pharmaceutical manufacturing, primarily for the U.S. market. McClay, unhappy with the direction his old company was taking, decided to form a new one more in line with his original
vision of providing services to drug and biotech firms. He discovered chemistry early in his career when he apprenticed with the local pharmacist. He managed the pharmacy for two years and then went to work for Glaxo as a sales representative. After meeting people who were developing medicines and vaccines for tuberculosis, he decided to start Galen. McClay came to view chemistry as a key route to success for Almac and also to the growth of innovative industry in Northern Ireland. In the six years since launching Almac, he saw the company incorporate innovative chemistry-based services with new business divisions such as its diagnostics division. McClay was a lover of golf and a member of two of the world’s most prestigious golf clubs, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. He also had an interest in the arts and literature. McClay is survived by his wife, Heather Topping, whom he married on Nov. 18, 2009. Ezzat S. Younathan, 86, a professor emeri-
tus of biochemistry at Louisiana State University (LSU), died on Feb. 7, 2009, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Born in Deirut, Egypt, Younathan studied chemistry at Cairo University, receiving a B.S. in 1944. After working for the Egyptian government, he arrived in the U.S. as an international fellow for Seagram’s in Louisville in 1950. One year later, he received a fellowship to study at Florida State University (FSU), Tallahassee, where he earned an M.S. in 1953 and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1955. Following postdoctoral teaching and research at FSU, he joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, in Little Rock, and served as its acting head for three years. He joined LSU in 1968 as a professor of biochemistry, serving on the faculty for 31 years until his retirement. Best known for his research on the enzymology and chemistry of carbohydrates, Younathan coauthored more than 70 publications and regularly presented at meetings of the International Congress of Biochemistry. One of his most notable contributions was identifying and synthesizing a group of WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
66
FEBRUARY 15, 2010
fructose analogs (2,5-anhydro-D-hexitols) that acted on multiple enzymes of glycolysis, the metabolic pathway that utilizes glucose. Younathan studied phosphofructokinase, the major regulatory enzyme in glycolysis, for 35 years, beginning in 1966 during a one-year sabbatical with Henry A. Lardy at the Institute for Enzyme Research at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Younathan received an LSU Basic Sciences Student Government Excellence in Teaching Award in 1992. He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1958. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Margaret; and daughters, Janet and Carol. Joseph L. Zuckerman, 77, a retired indus-
trial chemist, died of pancreatic cancer on Nov. 5, 2009, in Livingston, N.J. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Zuckerman received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Brooklyn College in 1955. During his 55-year career as an industrial polymer chemist, Zuckerman worked for numerous companies, focusing his research on adhesives, coatings, textiles, and elastomers. In the 1960s and ’70s, Zuckerman worked as a technical director for polymer product development at Allied Chemical in Morristown, N.J., before moving to J.P. Stevens in Garfield, N.J. During the 1980s and ’90s, he was employed by two Carlstadt, N.J., firms, first Stanbee and then Elektromek, before joining Craig Adhesives in Newark, N.J. He received 13 patents and published 12 professional papers. In the 1970s, Zuckerman received patents for developing ethylene propylene diene rubber/ethylene vinyl acetate and polyolefin blends, which are widely used in automotive carpet backings. Along with David A. Skrivanek, Zuckerman invented and patented a system for printing plastic “tactile graphics” that allow the blind to view—in the tactile sense—art, maps, sketches, and images. Zuckerman was a member of ACS, joining in 1956. Zuckerman is survived by his wife, Elaine; son, Dan; and two grandchildren. SUSAN J. AINSWORTH and RICK MULLIN wrote
these Obituaries. Obituary notices may be sent to
[email protected] and should include a detailed educational and professional history.
