IN MEMORIAM
ALFRED MARTIN
Alfred (Al) Martin was born on May 1, 1919, in Wildwood, a small
town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he lived until moving
to Philadelphia in order to attend the Philadelphia College of
Pharmacy and Sciences. He received his B.S. in pharmacy in 1941 – just
as the United States was drawn into World War II. Al put his civilian
life “on hold” and enlisted in the Marine Corps. He
served as a torpedo bomber pilot, and, in recognition of his heroism
in the service of his country, he was decorated with the Navy Air
Medal and the Navy Gold Star.
Shortly after his return to the States, he made two of the most
important decisions of his life. He married Mary Ziegler in July
1946, and he decided to pursue post-baccalaureate studies in pharmacy
rather than pursing a career as a pharmacist. He was awarded a
M.S. degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from Purdue University
in 1948 and completed his Ph.D. studies in pharmaceutics at Purdue
in 1950.
Upon graduation from Purdue, Al wasted no time in beginning his
academic career and starting a family. He joined the faculty of
the College of Pharmacy of Temple University in 1950, and his sons,
Neil and Douglas, were born in 1951 and 1953. During the ensuing
years, both he and Mary encouraged their sons’ interest in
the sciences. Neil is currently the chief of neurosurgery at UCLA
and Douglas is a chemical engineer with a major oil company.
Al was quickly promoted to associate professor with tenure at
Temple in 1953, but he accepted an offer in 1955 from his alma
mater and returned to Purdue where he was promoted to professor
in 1959 and remained until 1966. He spent two years on the faculty
of the Medical College of Virginia but was lured back to Temple
where he served as professor and dean from 1968 through 1973.
During his distinguished academic career that spanned roughly
thirty-eight years, Professor Martin was the supervising professor
for forty-four graduate students. Twenty-six of those students
chose careers in pharmaceutical industry, three chose careers in
health-related administration, and fifteen followed the path of
their mentor into careers in academia. One of those fifteen was
James T. Doluisio who joined the faculty of The University of Texas
in 1973 as Dean of the College of Pharmacy. During his twenty-five-year
tenure as dean, Jim Doluisio transformed the college from one that
was actually facing dissolution by the Texas Central Higher Educational
Administration in 1973 into an outstanding College of Pharmacy
that continues to be ranked second in the nation. His first step
in that transformation was to draft and implement a plan to recruit
science-oriented faculty to complement the efforts of existing
practice-oriented faculty, and his first hire was his former mentor,
Alfred Martin.
Professor Martin served as a “nucleation point” for
the growth of an energetic new faculty and, consequently, for the
growth of a new College of Pharmacy. Doluisio and Martin’s
shared vision for the revitalization of research and scholarly
activities within the College of Pharmacy lead to the formation
of the Drug Dynamics Institute of which Al served as director from
1973-78. Al served as a role model not only for his students but
also for the young faculty which Dean Doluisio recruited during
the 1970s and early 1980s.
Like the University he grew to love, Al was in continual pursuit
of excellence. His attention to detail and his desire to advance
scientific knowledge was evident in every paper he wrote and every
lecture he gave. These traits were recognized both informally and
formally. For example, in 1966, he won the Ebert Medal for the
best original research article in what was then the preeminent
scientific journal for pharmaceutical research. In the following
year, he received the Research Award in Physical Pharmacy from
the American Pharmaceutical Association. As indicated below, the
award in physical pharmacy was particularly fitting since Professor
Martin was and still is regarded by most as “the father of
Physical Pharmacy.” However, the recognition of which Al
was most proud came directly from the college and the University.
When the generosity of the Coulter R. Sublett family provided the
first endowed professorship in the College of Pharmacy, that honor
was immediately bestowed upon Professor Martin.
When Al Martin began his career as an academician, pharmaceutical
research was conducted in a largely empirical fashion. Indeed,
the recipes for various pharmaceutical formulations (suspensions,
emulsions, ointments, etc.) were more the result of empirical alchemy
and “art” than rational chemistry and science. Al Martin
literally changed the nature and course of pharmaceutical research.
He taught his students and all who read his papers that careful
attention to detail and the thoughtful application of fundamental
concepts drawn from thermodynamics, physical chemistry, quantum
chemistry, and mathematics could greatly enhance research productivity
and could transform pharmaceutical research into a scientific discipline
worthy of the respect it now commands.
Although his research spanned a broad range of topics, Martin’s
name is most often associated with his interest in predicting the
solubility of drugs and other chemicals in various solvent systems.
This is a subject of immense importance since the bioavailability
and, consequently, clinical efficacy of drugs is largely determined
by their solubilities. His work in this area extended the fundamental
work done by another pioneering giant of science, Professor Joel
Hildebrand, for whom Al had particular admiration. Martin’s “extended
solubility parameters” are still being used for purposes
as diverse as drug discovery and innovative paint technology.
Although he authored roughly 100 papers and presented countless
lectures, perhaps the single most important contribution Al made
to the advancement of the field of pharmaceutical research was
the publication of the world’s first textbook on Physical
Pharmacy. Indeed, his book remains the only textbook of physical
pharmacy and is used in both undergraduate and graduate courses
at universities around the world. Literally a labor of love, the
first edition was published in 1960. The second edition, of which
he was also the sole author, was published in 1969. He recruited
the assistance of two co-authors for the third edition, published
in 1983, and was hard at work on the fourth edition when he decided
to ask the publisher to identify someone else to carry that baton.
There are very few scientists with the breadth and depth of expertise
required for such a task and fewer still with the desire and energy
to see it through. Thus, the fourth edition still has not been
published.
Very few were surprised when, at age 69 and after thirty-eight
years in academia, Al submitted his letter of resignation in 1988.
However, although he never discussed it, some of his closer friends
were puzzled by his decision for the following reason. Al not only
admired Joel Hildebrand’s work but also admired and shared
in Hildebrand’s dedication and enthusiasm for doing good
work. The bulletin board outside Al’s office displayed a
tattered newspaper article about the fact that Hildebrand was still
publishing good work immediately prior to his death at age 101,
and Al’s friends knew that he had every intention of doing
the same. Why was it, then, that Al decided to resign when he was “only” 69
years old? Why didn’t he finish the fourth edition of his
beloved textbook as a retirement pastime?
Al was both a very friendly person and a very private person.
Thus, we can only theorize regarding the answers to those questions,
but his friends are fairly confident in the following explanation.
Al Martin demanded the best of his students, of other scientists
whose manuscripts he reviewed, and … of himself. Al died
of Alzheimer’s disease, and it is quite likely that he stopped
working when he felt that his work was no longer up to his own
demanding standards.
Al Martin was a great teacher, a great scientist, and a great
friend to colleagues around the world. He is remembered with great
respect, great admiration, and sincere fondness.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee
consisting of Professor Robert S. Pearlman (chair), Ms.
Barbara Sublett-Guthery, and Professor Emeritus James T.
Doluisio.
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