Andre Tridon Jagendorf

Andre Tridon Jagendorf died at the age of 90 on March 13, 2017 at Kendal inIthaca, New York. He was born to Sophie and Moritz Jagendorf on October 21,1926 in Manhattan. Predeceased by his parents, his sister, Merna, and his son,Daniel, he is survived by his wife, Jean, his daughters, Suzanne and Judith, eightgrandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and two nieces. Andre graduated fromCornell University with a B.S. in Plant Physiology in 1948, earned his PhD inBiophysics in 1951 at Yale University, followed by two years at UCLA when hewas awarded a Merck Postdoctoral fellowship. Andre became an AssistantProfessor at the Johns Hopkins University in 1953, an Associate Professor in 1958,and a Full Professor in 1966. He then returned in that year to Cornell University asa Professor of Plant Physiology, and became the Liberty Hyde Professor in 1981.Since 1997, Andre has been the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor Emeritus in theDepartment of Plant Biology, and he continued to work on a research project in thelaboratory of Dr. Robert Turgeon until the very last weeks of his life. Andre isknown for his groundbreaking work in the process of photosynthesis, which pavedthe way for a new field in science. He was also a pioneer in many aspects ofchloroplast molecular biology, including the discovery of a gene for the enzymeresponsible for DNA repair and recombination in chloroplasts. He became thePresident of the American Society of Plant Physiologists in 1967. He received theCharles F. Kettering Award of that Society in 1978. Andre was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences in 1980. He then received the Charles Reid BarnesLife Membership Award of the American Society of Plant Physiologists in 1989. In2012, he received a Life Time Achievement Award from the Rebeiz Foundation forBasic Research. The citation from that award stated that Andre proved himself as anonconformist who broke new grounds in science using a rare combination ofimagination, meticulous scrutiny of experimental results, and the ability to deviseingenious experiments that gave answers to major unsolved mechanisms inscience. In addition to his serious side, Andre was famous for his jokes. He wasever ready to tell a joke-of-the-day because he liked to see people laugh. He waswarmly loved, and he will be greatly missed. His final resting place will be in theGreensprings Natural Cemetery. Following his wishes, there will be no services ormemorial gatherings. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The SouthernPoverty Law Center ( PO Box 548, Montgomery, AL 36101-0548) or to a charityof choice.