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Dr. Thomas Hanks
Dr. Carl Thomas "Tom" Hanks, who taught oral and maxillofacial pathology at the School of Dentistry for 36 years, and for nearly as long at the Medical School, Born in Oklahoma, Hanks earned a bachelor's degree from Phillips University in Enid, Okla., in 1961 and a doctor of dental surgery degree from Washington University in St. Louis three years later.
Not long after receiving a doctoral degree in experimental pathology in 1970 from State University of New York at Buffalo, Hanks came to the U-M School of Dentistry as an assistant professor in the Department of Oral Pathology and as a research scientist with the school's Dental Research Institute.
The following year, 1971, he began his affiliation with the Medical School as an instructor in the Department of Pathology. From 1978, until his retirement, Hanks served as an associate professor.
From 1979 until his retirement two years ago, Hanks was a professor with the Oral Pathology Department. His research and scholarly activity focused on the biocompatibility of synthetic materials with living tissues and the influence of organic and inorganic extracellular matrix materials on bone cartilage, teeth, skin and mucosa.
In 2000 he played a major role in creating a virtual textbook that has allowed dental students with laptop computers to use the Internet and the school's intranet to electronically view digital images of hundreds of tissues that previously could only be viewed under a microscope in a laboratory.
During his career, Hanks published more than 75 articles that were refereed in scientific journals, wrote chapters for four books and presented more than 80 abstracts and papers at scientific meetings. He also was a reviewer for scientific publications, including the Journal of Dental Research, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research and the European Journal of Oral Sciences.
Hanks served on numerous dental school committees, including the executive committee, as well as University committees. He was a member of many professional committees and scientific organizations as well, including serving as a consultant to the American Dental Association's Council on Scientific Affairs since 2001.
Following retirement, he continued his efforts in the field of oral pathology, working to create a database of clinical and microscopic cases compiled from more than 50 years of materials in the school's biopsy service. His diagnostic skills in the field aided in the treatment of countless individuals.
"I met Tom early in my career while I was a graduate student," said Dr. Peter Polverini, dean of the School of Dentistry. "I remember how encouraging and supportive he was to me and to countless other students who sought his advice. Many of us have similar stories about Tom's kindness and compassion. As unassuming as Tom was, he had a presence."
A memorial service to celebrate his life and contributions to the dental school and to the University was held Sept. 18 at the school.
In lieu of flowers, the Hanks family suggests donations be made to support a dental scholarship in Dr. Hanks' name. Checks should be made payable to the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and can be mailed to the school's Office of Development at 540 E. Liberty, Suite 204, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
James C. O'Neill
James C. O'Neill, professor emeritus of French and former chairman of the Department of Romance Languages from 1960-73, born, along with his twin John Drew, in 1909 in Canandaigua,N.Y., the son of John Cornelius and Sarah Drew O'Neill. The family later moved to Rochester, N.Y.
After a freshman year at the University of Rochester, he transferred to U-M, and except for service in the Armed Forces during World War II from 1942-45, he never left his beloved Ann Arbor.
O'Neill received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930, Master of Arts in 1932 and his doctorate in 1942. He was promoted to associate professor in 1955 and to professor in 1961. When he retired in 1980, former President Harold Shapiro wrote, "Professor O'Neill's career is distinguished by praiseworthy dedication to the University of Michigan, to which he has devoted all of his life in a variety of duties too numerous to mention. Among these, however, stands out his 13-year period as chairman of the Department of Romance Languages, during the challenging years from 1960 to 1973. This length of tenure as administrative head of the department allowed him to build one of the most distinguished foreign language departments in the country.
"His success as an administrator did not obscure his talents as a teacher. From the very beginning of his career as a part-time instructor, Professor O'Neill was recognized as an imaginative, witty and fascinating teacher. This natural affinity for the most important aspect of our endeavors led him to a direct involvement in the supervision and articulation of the language program for many years. For this dedication to his teaching duties he was awarded the Order of the Palmes Academiques by the French government in 1963," Shapiro continued.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Elizabeth, his daughters, Mary Drew Downs, Catherine Hart O'Neill and Sarah Ellen O'Neill, his son, James Neal O'Neill, daughter-in-law Laura Anne Kelso, sons-in-law Will Downs and John Robert Mohan, and four grandchildren. He was died peacefully at home on July 30, 2006, following a three-year struggle with cancer.
Known to friends and colleagues as "Sandy," Whitesell began working at the University in 1973. Her appointments included service as director of financial aid in the Law School, and as assistant to the vice president for research.
She was a graduate of Olivet College. While working full time she also earned masters' and doctoral degrees from the U-M School of Education. Her dissertation won the Leo and Margaret Goodman-Malamuth award from the American Association of University Administrators.
While serving with the former Vice President for Research Homer Neal, Whitesell developed a proposal to restore the University's Detroit Observatory. Despite its status as one of the oldest surviving buildings on the Ann Arbor campus, the structure was in poor condition. Walking through the 1854 building, which overlooks the University's Medical Campus, Whitesell's enthusiasm for this important piece of University history greatly impressed Neal, who later recalled, he "saw the rooms light up, even though the lights had not been turned on. It was Sandy-glowing."
In 1994 Whitesell began her award-winning, four-year restoration of the observatory, eventually writing a book on the project, all while continuing to work in the vice president's office. Her study of the personalities and events surrounding the observatory's history led her to sympathize with former University President Henry Philip Tappan, who remarked: "I cannot speak of the observatory without emotion. No one will deny that it was a creation of my own." She regularly pointed out that the observatory was the earliest manifestation of the research university U-M has become today.
In 1998 Whitesell was appointed to the newly created position of director and curator of the Detroit Observatory. Under her leadership, the building served as a center for 19th century and museum studies, highlighting such accomplishments as the discovery of 21 minor planets and two comets using the observatory's telescopes. She inaugurated a schedule of open houses that enabled the public to see this historic structure and all of its equipment.
In addition to her contributions to scholarly journals on the history of observatories, Whitesell authored a series of articles on U-M history for the University Record ("The Historical Record"), and in 2000 began to share her experiences in exhibit creation and historic preservation as an adjunct lecturer in museology. Her research interests included the history of higher education, 19th century astronomy, the history of telescopes and other scientific instruments, museum studies, historic preservation, ornithology, and natural history.
When ill health forced her early retirement in 2005, responsibilities for the Detroit Observatory passed to the Bentley Historical Library. At that time Whitesell noted "I will miss the observatory more than I can express. It was a great privilege to serve the University in this way-an opportunity of a lifetime."
Whitesell was died in Ann Arbor on Sept. 4, 2006. He was 77.
A native of Chicago, Galler received two bachelor's degrees-one in mathematics and one in liberal arts-from the University of Chicago. He earned a master's degree in mathematics in 1949 from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1955, after receiving his doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago, he joined U-M as an instructor in the Department of Mathematics. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1959, associate professor in 1962 and professor in 1966. He retired from the University in 1994.
Galler is recognized as a pioneer in computer science and helped shape this emerging discipline at U-M. In the early 1960s he was active in developing the new communication science program, and in 1966 he became associate director of the Computing Center. His association with the center continued through 1991, spanning a period of tremendous growth and change in computer science and computing services.
Galler became a charter member of the new Department of Computer and Communication Sciences (CCS) in 1966 and headed the department 1973-75. The Department of Computer and Communication Sciences was one of the first of its kind in the country, and Galler was influential in the development of its software and mathematics curriculum.
In 1984 he was instrumental in negotiating the merger of CCS with the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department and the engineering program in Computer, Information and Control Engineering (CICE). This merger formed what is now the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department at the University.
Galler was noted for his vital service to the wider U-M community, serving on many Universitywide committees and task forces over the years, including as associate dean for long-range planning in LSA 1975-79. In addition to the time he devoted to administrative responsibilities and graduate student education and mentoring, he served as an undergraduate counselor for the computer science degree program for many years.
At the national level, Galler served as an officer of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) from its earliest days, including as president 1968-70. In 1980 ACM awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the field. Galler was a member of many other national boards and committees and was recognized by peers throughout his career with numerous awards and honors.
In recent years he was instrumental in developing a national record of the history of computing. He also founded the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing journal and founded the Software Patent Institute.
Known for his deep appreciation of music, Galler enjoyed playing the violin. Eight years ago he co-founded the Ypsilanti Youth Orchestra, helping others discover the joy of music by providing a full orchestra experience for middle and high school students who otherwise might not have access to such an opportunity. He also was a major fund-raiser for the orchestra.
"Bernie deeply touched and inspired many, both here at the University and more broadly," says Avi Rubin, professor of computer sciences at Johns Hopkins University who earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at U-M. "He was an exceptional individual on many levels.
"The world has lost one of the truly great and remarkable people. Exceptionally talented, and infinitely giving. Such people come along once in a lifetime."
Martha Ludwig
Martha Ludwig, the J. Lawrence Oncley Distinguished University Professor of Biological Chemistry at the Medical School and senior research professor in the Biophysics Research Division, born in Pittsburgh in 1931, received her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Cornell University in 1952, her master's degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1955, and her doctoral degree in biochemistry at Cornell's Medical College in 1956, and then held postdoctoral positions at Harvard and MIT.
At Berkeley she developed scientific ties with Howard Schachman, who had major influences on her career. While at Harvard she worked with J. Lawrence Oncley and Margaret Hunter, and she continued lifelong collaborations with them at U-M. She did further postdoctoral training with future Nobel laureate William Lipscomb, with whom she solved the structure of carboxypeptidase A. This was the first structure of a protein to be determined in the United States, and colleagues say it signaled this rising star in the field of X-ray crystallography.
In addition to her research contributions, Ludwig has been recognized widely for the rigor of her teaching and training of graduate students, and for her many administrative responsibilities. To quote one of her former students, "Regardless of rank, all students and fellows in the Ludwig laboratory receive superb training. No computer program is ever treated as a black box U+00E2U+0080U+00A6 She spends enormous amounts of time with each of her students. I remember many five- to six-hour-long meetings, where we would sit down and write a paper together, or try to figure out why a crystallographic refinement was not working.
"Graduate students were included in brainstorming sessions about future experiments, as Martha encouraged us to think creatively about her projects. In addition to the training, Martha provided us with many opportunities to speak at national meetings and to network with well established scientists."
Ludwig served as chair of the Biophysics Research Division from 1986-89 and initiated the Molecular Biophysics Training Program at U-M, securing funding from the National Institutes of Health for this graduate training resource and providing leadership of the program for nearly 20 years. She also played a leading role in the development of the Michigan Life Science Corridor-funded synchrotron beam line.
This facility represented a $22 million dollar effort to construct a new facility for protein crystallography at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. This facility, which very recently became operational, provides an opportunity for structural biologists from all the participating institutions in Michigan to have access to the most advanced X-ray source for macromolecular crystallography. The development of this resource has brought together structural biologists from Wayne State and Michigan State universities, U-M and the VanAndel Institute. In particular, colleagues say, it has helped bring together a large and vibrant group of crystallographers at U-M.
Gifts in memory of Ludwig can be directed to the Martha L. Ludwig Memorial Fund and sent to the Department of Biological Chemistry, U-M Medical School, Ann Arbor MI 48109-0606. Checks should be made out to the University of Michigan.
