In Memoriam

In Memory of Dr. Forest Hutchison

William Forest Hutchison, Ph.D., died of cancer at his home in Jackson on September 30, 1996. He was seventy.

Members of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences will remember his record as President during 1973 and his recognition for outstanding accomplishments to the academy on the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 1980.

His colleagues at the University of Mississippi Medical Center will recall his abilities as an excellent teacher and his strong interest in the students. He taught medical and graduate students, medical technologists, and an occasional resident in infectious diseases or pathology. He was professor emeritus of preventive medicine.

Twice Dr. Hutchison was selected by the students to receive the "pre-clinical professor of the year award," a highly coveted honor for teaching excellence at the Medical Center. Forest earned his baccalaureate and master's degrees at Emory University and his Ph.D. degree in parasitology at Tulane University. He also was a Louisiana State University fellow in parasitology and tropical medicine in Central America and Panama. His principal areas of research were epidemiology and serologic diagnosis of hydatid disease and the biochemistry and metabolism af filarial worms.

He served in the 100th infantry division in the European Theater of Operations during World War II and was a Purple Heart recipient. He was a very active church member and was selected an elder in the Fondren Presbyterian Church. Service to others also included his work as a volunteer for the Mississippi Reading Service.

Forest was blessed with five children and four grandchildren. They live all about the country: Mississippi, South Carolina, Alaska, California, Texas. There is also a sister in Connecticut. In his later years he often laughed about the busy travel schedule needed to make all the stops and keep up with his far-flung family.

For many years Forest was a member of a group of retiree buddies from the Medical Center having Tuesday lunch together and discussing the subject of the day. Through all the conversations about Mississippi and national politics, economics, education, race, books, sports, etc., it was clear that Forest had a keen mind and respected the dignity of every human being. We miss our friend greatly!--Hal White

In Memory of Dr. Ralph Powe

Ralph Powe, President of the MAS from 1981 to 1982, passed away on November 28, 1996, after a lengthy illness. Ralph was a great friend of science and the Academy. Most recently, he was responsible for Mississippi State University being the Host Institution for the 1997 Annual Meeting through his position as Vice-President for Research at MSU. His began his career as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Montana State where he had previously acquired his Ph.D. His undergraduate and master's degrees were from Mississippi State, and he returned there in 1974 as an associate professor. His talents were recognized and he quickly moved into various administrative positions culminating in his Vice-Presidency in 1986.

Ralph was instrumental in helping to establish the Mississippi Research Consortium. This group represents Mississippi State, the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Jackson State and works to promote research and economic opportunities in the state. The Consortium was also involved in bringing EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Establish Competitive Research) funds to the state. From 1994 until 1996, Ralph served as head of the Coalition of EPSCoR States, a nationwide advisory body for such programs.

There are many other instances of Ralph's involvement in the promotion of science. Beyond those facts is the simple fact that Ralph did what he did with grace and good humor. No matter what anyone would say about him, it was inevitable that they would also say, "Ralph is such a nice guy." Nice, competent people like Ralph Powe are hard to find, and we will all miss him.--John Boyle