AWARD AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY HONOURS DON CROSBY Ann Lemley from Cornell University reports of this yearrsquo;s recipient of the International Award for Research in Agrochemicals The International Award for Research in Agrochemicals sponsored by BASF and awarded by the Agrochemical Division of the American Chemical Society was presented to Emeritus Professor Donald G. Crosby on Monday April 2 2001 in San Diego California. Dr. Crosby was presented with a cheque from BASF and a plaque from the Agrochemical Division that extolled his creative research on pathways of transformation of pesticides in the environment emphasizing chemical and photochemical pathways. Dr. Crosby gave the award address in which he discussed the powerful influence that ultraviolet radiation particularly sunlight has on pesticides.He showed how this theme has been the dominant aspect of his research over the years and discussed in some detail important direct and indirect photochemical transformations illustrating his talk with seminal work carried out in his laboratory. Dr. Crosbyrsquo;s talk was followed by a variety of presentations by former graduate students colleagues from the University of California at Davis and colleagues from all over the US and the world. Presentations were liberally interspersed with warmth and humor and fond recollections of working with Dr. Crosby (including some vintage pictures). Dr. Fritz Fuhr from Institute of Chemistry and Dynamics in Julich Germany and a former winner of the International Award in Agrochemicals described his sabbatic visits to Crosbyrsquo;s lab and how his discussions there influenced his own research using wind tunnels to study the volatility and photochemistry of pesticides.Dr. Richard Zepp of the US Environmental Protection Agency described his work on the influence of dissolved organic matter on agrochemical photoreactions in the aquatic environment and how this work depended on the pioneering studies by Don Crosby. Dr. Donald Mackay from Trent University in Ontario Canada also spent some sabbatic leaves at Crosbyrsquo;s lab and spoke about his work on assessment of agrochemicals for their persistence bioaccumulation toxicity and long range transport and how the environmental fate work of the Crosby group was an important aspect of these broader models.A hallmark of Crosbyrsquo;s impact through the years has been the variety of graduate students from different fields with whom he worked and who have now developed important and successful careers in academia industry and government laboratories. Many of the projects with these graduate students were collaborations between Crosby and colleagues at UC Davis who were in other fields such as toxicology or wildlife specialties. Crosby brought a multidisciplinary approach to the solution of environmental problems before it became the fashionable thing to do. Born in Portland Oregon in 1928 Don Crosby grew up in Southern California. He received his AB in chemistry at Pomona College (1950) and a PhD in chemistry and biology at CalTech (1953).In 1961 he was invited by Chancellor Emil Mrak to join the University of California at Davis and has been there ever since. As Professor in the worldrsquo;s first Environmental Toxicology Department much of his research centered on pesticide photochemistry and aquatic metabolism continuing his research and teaching even well past his 1991 ldquo;retirement.rdquo; Don organized the ACS Division of Pesticide Chemistry (now the Agrochemicals Division) in 1968 served as its first chairman (1969) and Councillor (1971-80) was on the Board-Council Committee on Environmental Improvement for 6 years and became a Division Fellow in 1972. With Wendell Phillips and Jim Minyard he initiated the Divisionrsquo;s International Award in Pesticide Chemistry and presented the first Award to his UC colleague John Casida in 1969.also served 9 years as U.S. representative on the IUPAC Commission on Pesticide Chemistry Former students made presentations about reactions rates of mercury in the gas phase the role of hydroxyl radicals and carbonate radicals in the photodegradation of pesticides applications of accelerator mass spectrometry in assessing the fate of chemicals and fate of turf pesticides in aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Donald Crosby is a very worthy recipient of the International Award for Research in Agrochemicals and the award symposium was a joyous celebration for all involved. Pesticide Outlook ndash; June 2001 This journal is copy; The Royal Society of Chemistry 2001 DOI 10.1039/b104734p 86
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