Albert I. Meyers
November 22, 1932 - October 23, 2007
I was deeply saddened to hear that Al has passed away. He has been an inspiration to me for a long time. A genuinely nice man, he always encouraged students and colleagues to fulfill their potential. I remember as a young graduate student giving my first talk at an ACS meeting how nervous I was. Afterward Al came up to introduce himself and tell me what a good job I had done. Thanks Al, that did more for my confidence than anything else in my career. Organic Chemistry lost a great one this week. Rest in peace, Al.
November 22, 1932 - October 23, 2007
I was deeply saddened to hear that Al has passed away. He has been an inspiration to me for a long time. A genuinely nice man, he always encouraged students and colleagues to fulfill their potential. I remember as a young graduate student giving my first talk at an ACS meeting how nervous I was. Afterward Al came up to introduce himself and tell me what a good job I had done. Thanks Al, that did more for my confidence than anything else in my career. Organic Chemistry lost a great one this week. Rest in peace, Al.
4 comments:
I think it's a measure of ones accomplishments when one can be identified simply by their initials. Mention "A.I." to any organic chemist and most would think of Meyers.
I'm sad to hear of his passing.
That's a really nice story. I never met him, but have read a lot of his papers over the years. A sad loss.
I have in my possession a copy of a letter from Meyers to his group dated 8/3/90. In it, he says that he is upset that his laboratories are sloppy and filthy, there is a “general lack of effort” and that the science is “dismal in quantity and quality”. He states that he will no longer sit idly by while there is “100% attendance at parties and 10% attendance in the lab”. Apparently two people had recently quit without “proper completion” of their theses or reports. He says: “I assure you both of these individuals will suffer in the future… Frankly, I’m tired of being the ‘fall guy’ for your selfish little lives.”
Then this paragraph:
“Anyone in this group that [sic] doesn’t pull his (or her) own weight, produce at the maximum level, and show consistent signs of professionalism, will be seeking alternative means of employment. Do not take this threat lightly.”
I have saved this letter all this time to remind myself what clueless douchebags there are in academia. In any of the corporate structures I have worked in over the last two decades, this memo would have gotten the author bounced. It is not a comment on the people under Meyers but Meyers’ inability to manage them.
What's up? Long time no hear from you.
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