Biophysical Society Bulletin | February 2022

Career Development

Upcoming Networking Events The Membership Committee recently approved six Network- ing Events to be held in 2022. The opportunity was opened so that members could apply to host either an in-person or a virtual event. We hope that you will join us at any of the virtual events that catch your eye or in person at an event in your area! Approved In-Person Events: University of Massachusetts Movement Research Center Student Research Symposium February 2, 2022 Lowell, MA Biophysics Graduate Research and Networking Symposium March 2022 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL

Approved Virtual Networking Events: MicroRNAs as Ideal Biomarkers March 2022 The Study of Ion Channels, Gatekeepers of Life April 2022 Stochastic Dynamics and Physics of Protein-DNA Interactions June 2022 Biophysics of Polyglutamine Aggregation: How Does It Start and How Does It End? July/August 2022 Beginner Scientists at the Interface of Physics and Biology September 5, 2022

For up-to-date information about each upcoming event, visit www.biophysics.org/upcoming-networking-events

InMemoriam

Thomas E. Thompson

Above his many accomplishments and distinctions, Tom Thompson was a good man. I was the next to last of his PhD students. I still remember the day I met Tom, when I walked into the Biochemistry Department at the University of Virginia to start my PhD in 1988. Tom was having lunch in Jim Ogilvie ’s office, eating celery sticks, as he very often did for lunch, after having had his sandwich, which always looked the same to me. Tom received me with great kindness. Indeed, although somewhat feared by the graduate students because of his prestige and commanding manners, he was the gentlest of mentors for his graduate students. I have never seen him lose his temper with one of us. I will forever carry a profound sense of gratitude for having known Tom Thompson. As I was leaving his laboratory, after I received my PhD in 1992, Tom called me into his office. He told me, “Paulo, there are two things I would like to tell you, as you leave. First, in science, never be afraid of starting to work on something you know nothing about. Second, when you are in a position of power, never be afraid of hiring someone better than you.” I have carried these two last gifts of Tom with me. As he now takes leave, I think Tom would have liked to leave these thoughts with all of us. — Paulo Almeida

Thomas E. Thompson (1926–2021) died on November 16, 2021, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 95. He was born in Cincinna- ti, Ohio, on March 15, 1926. T.E. Thompson, as he was known to many, was one of the most distin- guished members of the Biophysi- cal Society. He served as President of the Society in 1976, and as Editor-in-Chief of Biophysical Journal from 1987 to 1992. Tom was also the recipient of the Avanti Award in

Thomas E. Thompson

Lipids, among many others. The award annually given by the Membrane Structure and Function Subgroup of the Biophys- ical Society bears his name. Together with Jesse Beams , he founded the Biophysics Program at the University of Virginia. Tom Thompson was Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Virginia, of which he was Chair from 1966 to1976. Tom received his B.A. from Kalamazoo College, Michigan, in 1949, and his PhD in Biochemistry from Harvard University in 1955. He published more than 200 research papers.

February 2022

15

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y