[RASMB] [EXTERNAL]Re: Ken van Holde

[John J. Correia]

I first met Ken while a student with Dave Yphantis. We were doing velocity simulations that eventually contributed to vanHolde Weischet analysis. I was unfortunately too late to the lab to take the Woodshole Physiology course with Dave & Ken. Since I started teaching my own Physical Biochemistry course – named after Ken’s book – I have managed to use his take on noideality, the derivation of the Donnan effect, and his derivation of MWC. I consider these all rites of passage. It is of great amusement to me that my histones friends all think of Ken with great fondness and amazement for his Chromatin book (see Ken's own memory in a 2008 JBC 283, 4461 perspective). Some also remember his hemocyanin work. It is truly amazing how we are influenced by others! The last time I spoke to Ken was at the San Antonio AUC meeting in 2012 - Ken was the Keynote. He was writing a new book!

-----Original Message-----
From: RASMB [mailto:rasmb-bounces at list.rasmb.org] On Behalf Of Laue, Thomas
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2019 9:27 AM
To: Borries Demeler <demeler at gmail.com>; RASMB List <rasmb at list.rasmb.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL]Re: [RASMB] Ken van Holde

Dear all-
This is sad news, indeed. I had many opportunities to chat with Ken over the years and always came away learning something new. The cover of my "Biophysical Chemistry" fell off decades ago from constant use.
David Yphantis and Ken were good friends from their many summers at Woods Hole. One year Ken and Barbara when they were about to return to Oregon from Woods Hole, they approached David and Lorna with a young, frail cat named Charlo. Ken explained that they were reluctant to bring the cat with them because they feared the drive would be too much for it. In fact, they said, they doubted the cat would live another year. David and Lorna took in Charlo, adding him to their eventual collection of a dozen cats in Connecticut. As it turned out, Charlo lived another16 years and was a constant source of mischief and aggravation for them. They kept threatening to return Charlo to Ken and Barbara...
My best to everyone-
Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: RASMB <rasmb-bounces at list.rasmb.org> On Behalf Of Borries Demeler
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2019 3:09 PM
To: RASMB List <rasmb at list.rasmb.org>
Subject: [RASMB] Ken van Holde

Caution - External Email;;;

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Dear Colleagues,
I am saddened to let you know that my mentor Ken van Holde passed early Saturday morning, surrounded by his children, in Corvallis, Oregon.

Ken was a remarkable scientist, mentor, role model, and full of humanity.
I had the privilege to join his lab in the late 80'ties when I started my PhD at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He was well known from his biophysical work using analytical ultracentrifugation, studying hemocyanin and the structure and function of chromatin. He also contributed a large body of research to AUC methodology and solution biophysics, including several textbooks.

His career in academia started at the University of Wisconsin in Madison with an undergraduate degree, and later a PhD. If I recall correctly, it was there that he first encountered an analytical ultracentrifuge.
He continued as assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and in 1957 he moved to the University of Illinois where he advanced to Professor. In 1967 he moved to Oregon, to the Dept.
of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

He was an internationally recognized scholar, having received multiple important awards, including the Monie A. Ferst Award, he was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he also held the title of American Cancer Society Research Professor. Ken was further recognized by the Guggenheim foundation, and received awards from NSF, EMBO, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. He traveled frequently and spent considerable time abroad, primarily in France and Germany, to conduct research with scientists from many different fields.

When I was in Oregon, every summer he packed up a station wagon and drove across the country to teach the physiology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, where he also interacted with David Yphantis, who passed earlier this year.

At Oregon State University, Ken was named an OSU Distinguished Professor in 1988, and in 1993 he retired as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
His career didn't end with his retirement, he still wrote several books and continued to serve as associate editor of JBC. I'm sure I am leaving out a lot, but if you have fond memories of Ken, please share them with us.

Regards, -Borries

P.S. I received this from a friend of mine at OSU:

Ken recently produced a book of his poetry and the last poem in the collection, penned in 2014 is entitled “An Old Man”. It reads:

/Once,/

/When I was young and frantic/

/I saw an old man sitting/

/alone in a garden/

/I thought, how sad/

/that we should come to this./

//

/Now I am old./

/The frenzy is gone./

/I have learned the beauty/

/of a fading afternoon;/

/the mystery of night./

//

/I spend hours/

/sitting/

/watching/

/waiting./
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