David W. Deerfield II

I met David back in 1996 while I was a graduate student at the University of Missouri. I was attending a workshop at the PSC and David gave the machine room tour. I remember David displayed humor, enthusiasm and intellect on the tour and we all had a great time. I could also tell he didn’t quite like my sense of humor when I asked, “What would happen if you pushed the big red STOP button on the Cray C90?” I didn’t anticipate that I would be interviewing for a position in his group within the next few years.

David gave me a fair bit of freedom to find my niche upon joining his group in May of 1999. He often let me figure out things on my own but was always there when I had questions, which I often had about organic chemistry mechanisms. I will always be thankful to him and Hugh for getting me started on studying Aldehyde Dehydrogenase and then for later discussions on the calculations. I remember David jokingly used to say that every scientific problem you undertake should include 5 publications. It went something like an initial letter, the initial communication, the full paper, the partial retraction and the full retraction. Funny! David would often send me e-mail that was very hard to decipher. One just contained something like 60-57 in the subject line. It occurred to me about 10 minutes later to check the basketball scores. Kansas had just beat Missouri 60-57 in basketball. David could also give you a historical tale behind the annoying “Rock-chalk Jayhawk” chant. David and I challenged each other on various things, like trying to fill up the que on Jonas to temporarily lock the other out. One day I good-naturedly tried to push him out of my office. Big mistake. David backed me all the way into the far corner of my office and kept me there long enough for Stu to capture a picture of my defeat. We had some good times.

I will miss David’s roaring laughter, his jokes, his quirkiness, and his advice on personal and professional matters.