Deceased Faculty
Jonathan G. Rudick, 1977-2022
A Memorial Symposium: Friday, September 30, 2022 at 2:00 - 6:00 PM in the Student Union Auditorium, room 103. Click here for more details.
It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of Jonathan Rudick, Associate Professor, on January 1, 2022 after a long battle with cancer. Jon obtained a B.S. in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania where he performed his thesis research with Virgil Percec. Jon then spent two years as a Scientist at The Procter & Gamble Company followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania with Bill DeGrado. Jon joined our department in 2010 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016.
An organic chemist with a strong background in supramolecular and macromolecular chemistry, Jon’s research focused on the development of new synthetic methods and strategies for the non-iterative synthesis of monodisperse compounds with precise molecular weight and defined-sequence. His group made important contributions to the field of complex soft condensed matter, using multicomponent reactions to synthesize multifunctional materials such as liquid crystals and dendronized polymers, and designing peptide–dendron hybrids that adopted predictable secondary and quaternary structures.
Jon made numerous contributions to our department through his research program, student mentorship, teaching and service. He revised the curriculum of organic chemistry courses taken by our graduate students, and served on many committees, chairing the graduate student recruitment committee and, more recently, the seminar committee.
Jon was also instrumental in creating our annual chemistry safety day. In 2012, five days after Superstorm Sandy, the Chemistry Department was scheduled to hold its 13th Annual Chemistry Research Day, a campus-wide research symposium. This event was postponed as we concentrated on checking that our students, postdocs, staff, and faculty were safe. However, the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy highlighted shortcomings in our department’s safety management. So when it came time to reschedule our research event, Jon turned Chemistry Research Day into Chemistry Research and Lab Safety Day to improve our safety culture across the department.
Jon was always friendly and upbeat, and exemplified the definition of collegial. He
will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Molly, Chloe and the rest of his family.
The funeral was held in Pennsylvania where the majority of Jon’s family is located. A memorial gathering was held on January 15th at 9:30am to 10:30am at St. Ephrem Catholic Church 5400 Hulmeville Rd. Bensalem, PA 19020. It was followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30am. An interment service was held at Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem, PA.