In Memoriam of Edward Biehl, Retired Professor Emeritus of Chemistry

Edward R. Biehl, Retired Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, passed away on
Monday, October 14th.

Professor Edward R. Biehl earned his B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, where he enrolled under the GI bill after returning from his service in the Korean War. He was appointed as a full-time tenure track faculty member at Southern Methodist University in 1962 and served as the chair of the department for 27 years from 1981 until 2008. Under his guidance, the department established itself as a major research center. Prof. Biehl nurtured this growth through the purchase of major equipment, hiring talented faculty, and supporting them with substantial start-up packages and post-doctoral support. These measures lead to a surge in external research funding and publications. In 2004, Prof. Biehl oversaw the development and approval of the new PhD program in chemistry.

In his own laboratory, Prof. Biehl initiated an active synthetic organic chemistry research program with an emphasis on medicinal heterocyclic chemistry. He pioneered microwave benzyne-click chemistry and synthesized the first example of a nitrobenzyne intermediate. He published 275 publications, holds 9 patents, and supervised more than 400 students and post-doctoral researchers. His work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense DARPA program, the National Institutes of Health, the Welch Foundation, and the U.S. Air Force Small Business Technology Transfer Program. Prof. Biehl has contributed to several high-profile collaborations with institutes like Georgetown University, Brookhaven National Labs, and Johns Hopkins University where his novel heterocyclic compounds show promise for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Prof. Biehl has been the recipient of numerous SMU awards, including the Dedman Family Distinguished Professor Award, Phi Beta Kappa Perrine Prize, the President's Associates Outstanding Faculty Award, HOPE Awards, the Margareta Deschner Teaching Award, the Rotunda yearbook's Outstanding Professor, the UMC University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award, the Pan-hellenic Award, SMU's "M" Award for outstanding service, and the SMU Faculty Career Achievement Award. Prof. Biehl has also been recognized with the Wilfred T. Doherty Award from the DFW section of the American Chemical Society, the national Dreyfus Fellow Award, and the prestigious Kametani Award sponsored by the Japan Heterocyclic Society.

Since his youth, Prof. Biehl was a talented pianist and his love of music is well known to the department and the SMU community. His passions for art and chemistry enlighten the core of the SMU Department of Chemistry and his encouragement and leadership will be forever remembered and appreciated.