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This spring, the University of Minnesota is announcing the creation of the Richard D. Amelar and Arthur S. Lodge Fellowship for Outstanding Collaborative Research in Materials. With this fellowship, Susanna and Timothy "Tim" Lodge hope to encourage and recognize exceptional graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science who have demonstrated a strong collaborative spirit and initiative to improve the academic community.
In achieving their own personal and professional success, the Lodges drew inspiration from their fathers, both accomplished scientists of high intellectual and moral standards. Tim is currently a Regents Professor in the departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Materials Science; Susanna completed her doctorate in Chemistry at the university in 1990.
Arthur Lodge, Tim’s father, was born in England in 1922, and earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Oxford University in mathematics and physics, respectively. He joined the faculty of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in 1961 and, seven years later, emigrated to the United Sates. There, he became a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he taught for 23 years. As a world-renowned expert in the field of rheology, the study of the flow and deformation of matter, he received many accolades and, in 1992, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He died on June 24, 2005.
"In his career," said Tim, "I’m sure he was proudest of two things: his students and his colleagues, with whom he built up the University of Wisconsin's Rheology Research Center."
Susanna’s father, Dr. Amelar, now retired, was a professor of clinical urology at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and a pioneer in the field of male infertility. Born in 1927 in New York City, he entered medical school at NYU at age 19 and graduated in 1950.
“My father always wanted to be a doctor and the best doctor he could be,” said Susanna. “His patients’ needs were paramount. He was an extremely able and compassionate physician, with a broad and deep understanding of medicine."
His many publications include Male Infertility, a book he co-authored that has been widely cited in the field. In 1969, he was invited to Geneva, Switzerland, to serve as a consultant to the World Health Organization on public health aspects of sub-fertility and sterility. The following year, he was awarded grants to establish the first free vasectomy clinic in the United States. He later served on scientific and advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health and was director of the American Fertility Society. Dr. Amelar received the 50 Year Faculty Service Award from the NYU School of Medicine in 2006.
In addition to honoring their father’s legacies, the Lodges' award celebrates both community and technical skill.
“Growing up, I remember my father always helping people and doing more than what was asked of him,” said Susanna. “So often, people focused on the greater good are under appreciated.”
For Tim, creating this award is a way to honor the powerfully understated role his father played in molding his life and career.
“He never complained about having to work,” said Tim. “He did not dispense advice, but he did dispense example. I felt this most of all when it came to my own career choice. He never pushed on us the joys of academic science, but he demonstrated daily that he had a job he loved.”
