Warm wishes to the NMR community -
Earl Whipple, who many of you knew as an outstanding contributor to the NMR of chemical systems, died of cancer in mid-October. He was 85, and had been living with his son and daughter-in-law in Asheville, North Carolina since 2007. Earl told the family that he loved chemistry until the end and loved to tell stories of his experiences over his long career in NMR, of the many people he worked with, and how many of them have won major recognition.
Earl was an NMR scientist at Union Carbide in Tarrytown, NY and then at Pfizer in Groton, CT where I met him at the beginning of my industry career in 1991. At the start of my interview dinner with Earl and two of his colleagues from Pfizer, Earl said “Walt, around this table you’ve got a Northern Conservative, a young Liberal, and a Southern Democrat, so there’s no way you’re going to make all of us happy.” He was right, of course, but they hired me anyway. He had a sharp mind, a sharp wit, and he was an exceptional colleague, mentor, and friend. I still keep a copy on my desk of his unpublished ‘Structure Units’ methods paper for solving unknown chemical structures.
The family will be holding an informal Memorial, January 2, 2016 at 2PM in The Garden Cabin on the campus of Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC. Members of the NMR community are welcome to visit.
Best to everyone,
Walt Massefski
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA
Received on Tue Dec 08 2015 - 15:50:55 MST