Memories of Dr. Newman, from Phil Cox, BS 1970
Regarding Dr. Newman's desk, I remember it well. He used to have a
very small office on the third floor of Evans which was packed with vials
of compounds created by his grad students and post doc's. In 1969 his
small office was combined with the adjacent secretary's office which
gave him by far the largest office in the building. He had a handwritten
index to all of the vials and kept them religiously in order. I recall him
telling me that they were more valuable than gold since each of the
compounds were the only ones in existence. At the time he was
especially into hexahelicine and was working on the synthesis of
heptahelicene. He was gone about 4 days a month to consult with
Upjohn Pharmaceuticals up in Michigan. At the time he drove a little
blue Mercedes two-seater which was typically parked in front of Evans.
He took a nap each day after lunch for about an hour and woe be
anyone who would interrupt this special time. Each Tuesday evening
he would have a meeting with all of his underlings at his home in Upper
Arlington - complete with dinner. He loved to garden and do big
cookouts for his students on the 4th of July. I was fortunate to have
been given the opportunity to the exposure he granted me as a lowly
undergrad. I think of him often. He was a remarkably smart man but
yet made everything seem so simple.