1950s
Donald Lee Battenberg, 90, d. January 2, 2025. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and education at UW–Madison in 1956 and enlisted in the United States Army and served in Germany for two years after college.
Jeremy Richard Fox, 91, d. December 23, 2023. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1954. He was an avid cellist and scientist.
Barbara Meyers Koerber, 92, d. October 9, 2024. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1954, one of three women earning a degree in chemistry, and completed a master’s in chemistry at UW–Madison in 1956.
Rodney Jerome Sime, 93, d. October 24, 2024. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UW–Madison in 1955. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War, and after UW earned his Ph.D. and was a professor at Sacramento State University for 33 years.
1960s
Ralph G. Czerepinski, 84, d. July 12, 2025. Ralph earned a bachelor’s degree from UW–Madison in chemistry in 1962, where he met his love, Donna Monteith. When they began dating, Donna firmly told Ralph they were not allowed to kiss in the Chemistry building, a rule which Ralph promptly disregarded. He moved on to receive his Ph.D. in rocket fuel oxidizer chemistry and work as a research scientist for the Dow Chemical Company until his retirement in 2001.
Marilyn Ankeney Parker, 82, d. May 6, 2023. Marilyn earned her bachelor’s degree from UW–Madison in 1962. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Washington and was a professor of chemistry for 36 years at Monmouth University.
Nancy Louise Russell, 86, d. November 28, 2024. Nancy graduated from the UW–Madison with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1960.
Manfred Weigele, 93, d. July 11, 2025. Manfred came to the United States as a Rhodes Scholar and earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UW-Madison in 1965. He co-invented fluorescamine, a reagent for the detection and quantification of primary amines that gained widespread use. In 1991, he cofounded Ariad Pharmaceuticals.
1970s
Wayne Layton Wittenberg, 69, d. January 9, 2025. Wayne’s passion for science led him to the UW–Madison, where he earned a B.S. in Chemistry in 1977 as part of the honors program and Phi Beta Kappa society. He earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, an M.D., and completed a neurosurgery residency program for a career that took him across the country as a neurosurgeon.
Department community
Janice Christine (Brumm) Haynie, 87, d. January 7, 2025. Janice was the analytical path administrative assistant for the department from 1991 to 1997. Janice loved her career at UW–Madison where she was very involved in the students’ academics and would assist with typing thesis details for them.