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In Memorial Dr. Stanley C. Israel November 13, 2003 In Memory of Stanley: a presentation at the Memorial, Southwest Texas State University

Ken Wynne, Ed Vandenberg and Stan Israel, 2003

It is an honor, but a sad honor to represent the Polymer Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society at this Memorial for Stanley. A number of messages that others and myself received have been posted on our Web site memorial page for Stanley. I hope the outpouring of expressions of sympathy by the large number of Stanley's friends and colleagues in the Division may bring some solace to Sonja and her family.

I was "recruited" into the ACS Polymer Chemistry Division in the 1970's by one of Stanley's closest friends Joe Salamone. In that era, Polymer Division business was run by a small group that included Stanley. In fact, Stanley had his hands firmly on the steering wheel of the Division in those early days. Today, the Division is the fourth largest in the American Chemical Society with about 7,300 members, an international presence, and an annual budget of over $600,000.

Stanley was Polymer Division Treasurer 1979-1984. I learned recently through a message from Val Metanomski that Sonja was very active in helping Stanley as Treasurer. This was a very important time for the DivisionÉa period of growth in membership and in our reserve fund. Stanley played a key role in this process. Stanley was then elected Vice Chair in 1987, and went through the succession to become Chair in 1989. He served as Councilor for a decadeÉ.from 1990-2000.

Stanley had enormous organizational energy and capabilities. From the 1970's as a member of the Division International Committee, Stanley played a key role in organization of international meetings of importance to Polymer Division members. Messages were received internationally from a number of scientists including ones from Japan offering condolences to Sonja and her family and noting Stanley's important organizational role in the Pacific Polymer Federation. In addition, he was strongly involved in the recent international meeting "Polymers for Advanced Technologies" in Florida and was on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the same name.

I got to know Stanley as a member of the Program Planning Committee soon after being "recruited" in the 1970's. To the uninitiated, picking topics for a scientific meeting might seem like a cerebral academic exercise. But there was more to guiding the course of our national meetings than picking topics of technical interest. Stanley understood the politics behind the topics. In fact, Stanley was a master at politics, which was important because others and myself were often clueless. With respect to Program Planning, he clearly understood the "game", which was to maximize symposium attendance and grow the Division.

In all his many activities in the Division Stanley was a tremendous competitor who constantly sought to build the Division. Stanley really relished this process. From our earliest meetings, I came to realize that the Polymer Division was one of Stanley's great passions.

Later, when I was Councilor I would make sure that I found Stanley at the Council meetings. This was politics and policy, two areas where Stanley excelled. I would always ask Stanley "what's going on". Stanley would intently explain what issues were being debated and what he thought about various votes that were coming up. At the end of his explanation he would say, "you understand?" Again, Stanley was passionate about the Division and about ACS. Stanley always knew the issues and you always knew where Stanley stood.

Personally, Stan and I became good friends. Our paths often crossed from the time he was a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, as Chair of Chemistry at Lowell, and as Dean at Texas State University, San Marcos. When I became Chair this year, Stanley was a confidant who brought a breadth of knowledge that I could apply to difficult decisions.

I enjoyed Stanley. Everybody enjoyed Stanley. He had a great sense of humor. He had great stories. Stanley was a compassionate. He had qualities that I wished I had myself.

At a meeting in Hawaii in December 2000, our mutual friend and colleague Sukant Tripathy, a renowned professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell drowned in a tragic accident. Stanley immediately took over the details of dealing with this terrible event and was an enormous help to the family in dealing with this shock.

Here, three years later we are faced with the tragic loss of Stanley. I really can say no more that to express the hope that the heartfelt sense of loss that those of us feel in the Polymer Division will help console Sonja and her family in their grief.

Kenneth J. Wynne
Chair 2003, ACS Polymer Chemistry Division
Professor, Chemical Engineering
Affiliated Professor, Chemistry
Virginia Commonwealth University