M.W. Bud Perrine

1928 - 2016

M. W. Bud Perrine, Ph. D.

Age: 88

At the age of 88, M. W. Bud Perrine, Ph.D., died peacefully, with his daughter Stephanie at his side, at the University of Vermont Medical Center on November 15th.

To his family, he will always be remembered above all as a beloved and devoted father and grandfather. He was loved by many dear friends over decades of his extraordinary life. To his many colleagues, he was an internationally recognized authority on the effects of alcohol, especially in injury accidents. His areas of expertise also included the relationship between alcohol and violence and aggression.

Dr. Perrine, was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1928, and from an early age insisted on being called 'Bud.' He graduated from Hopkins Grammar School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He enlisted in the United States Army in the final years of World War II, and was stationed in Berlin, Germany. He then earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Princeton University in 1958.

He used his training in experimental and behavioral psychology to advance the international understanding of the role of alcohol and other drugs in human injury. He taught Psychology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and later at Boston University's School of Medicine. He also lived in Europe for several years, teaching courses in optical perception at the Hochschule fuer Gestaltung, Germany, the Technical Center for Design in Ulm, Germany, the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and at Cambridge University, England.

In 1986, he founded the Vermont Alcohol Research Center (VARC), which later became the Addiction Research Institute. Through a succession of federal grants to this private nonprofit organization, he conducted research that advanced scientific understanding of the role alcohol and other drugs in behavior and vehicle crashes—and later, in pool diving accidents. He authored and co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications in social psychology and alcohol research.

Through his leadership, VARC became an affiliate of the Wuerzburg (Germany) Institute of Traffic Science. In 1998, the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe asked Dr. Perrine to direct a project comparing the drug and alcohol laws and traffic laws of 17 Member States, to help inform European policy on minimizing crash risk in cross-border traffic. That landmark work continues to be a resource for national police, policy makers, and planners in the developed world.

Dr. Perrine's career combined university teaching, federally funded research, peer-reviewed publications, and government service with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Following his retirement from the Addiction Research Institute in 2004, he consulted as an expert witness in more than 50 legal cases involving alcohol and injury.

He is survived by his son, Craig Perrine, and by his daughter, Stephanie Perrine Lewis. Also surviving are his grandchildren Ethan Perrine, Hayden Perrine, and Nancy Perrine Lewis. Donations may be made in his memory to the Hopkins Grammar School of New Haven, Connecticut, or to the charity of the donor's choice. A memorial service is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, December 18th, at Ready Funeral Home, 261 Shelburne Road, Burlington.

Visit burlingtonfreepress.com/obituaries to Express condolences and sign the guest book.