Michael L. Mishkind

1951 - 2023

With deep sadness, we share that Michael L. Mishkind, age 72, died on May 25, 2023 in Bennington, Vermont, after living a life filled with deep passion, kindness, and generosity of spirit. Born on February 12, 1951, he grew up in Bayside, Queens, and Great Neck, New York, the son of Dorothy and Daniel Mishkind. He had one brother, Andrew (1953-1985), with whom he was very close. His lifelong interest in biology, music, art, philosophy, and history shaped his curiosity about the world around him.

His daughters, Anne and Darcy, were central to his happiness. He shared his love of science with Darcy and love of philosophy with Anne throughout her studies in intellectual history and political theory. He was actively engaged with both daughters around their research and studies and was immensely proud and happy for both of them.

He was a committed amateur pianist and shared his deep passion for listening to classical music with all around him. He reveled in Bachfest on WKCR every winter, Sunday Morning Ursay on WBAI, and attended live concerts at every opportunity. A talented cook and bread baker, he loved to experiment in the kitchen, whether perfecting the simplest hummus recipe or creating extravagant multi-course meals for family and friends. He was a serious reader of history, reading widely across American history, World War II, biographies, and anything written by Joseph Roth. With an interest in Jewish history, he enjoyed learning about eastern Europe and the regions of Lithuania and Ukraine where his family was from. Michael loved taking long walks in the woods around the Park McCullough House with his devoted dog, Lucca. He loved the views of the fields and woods in all seasons.

After completing his PhD with time at both Stony Brook University and the University of Wisconsin, he continued his post-doctoral studies in plant biology at the University of Georgia. There, he met Jeannie Jenkins, a PhD student in a collaborating lab. They were married in 1985.

In 2003, Michael took a sabbatical from his work as a professor at Bennington College to conduct research on heat stress in Chlamydomonas in Teun Munnik's lab at the University of Amsterdam. Over time, he shifted his research to Arabidopsis. Even after becoming a program director at the National Science Foundation he returned every year to Amsterdam to continue his experiments, maintaining this relationship for 20 years. When not physically present, Michael would attend weekly lab meetings remotely, awake at 6:30 AM to hear what was new in the lab.

Michael loved his work and his colleagues at the National Science Foundation immensely. He took joy in helping develop interdisciplinary approaches to research funding and was co-founder of the NSF Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (BIO/IOS). He was dedicated to providing opportunities for underrepresented constituencies and discussing new science. The generosity and compassion of his colleagues provided the loving support necessary for him to be fully engaged in the last 6 months of his life after being diagnosed with ALS.

Michael's family is deeply thankful to all the friends, organizations, and professionals who shared their time and love with us.