Eugene Pysh Stevens

Eugene Pysh Stevens, 85, died December 16, 2024, in Binghamton, New York. He is survived by his son, Gregory, of Albany, New York; his sister Audrey Pysh Theis, of Portland, Oregon; sister-in-law Maxine Pysh of Merrillville, Indiana; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

Eugene was born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania on December 29, 1938, the middle son of a large Ukrainian family. He excelled academically as a young child and graduated as the valedictorian of his Carnegie High School class of 1956. After receiving a B.S. in Chemistry from Yale University in 1960, he earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, followed by a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University.

He was a Professor of Chemistry for over fifty years, at both Brown University and the State University of New York at Binghamton. He received many grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health, traveled around the world doing research, and published over 100 scientific papers. He also authored one of the first books on "Green Plastics," introducing biodegradable plastics to a large general audience.

Eugene will be remembered by his family as a man of many talents. He especially enjoyed singing in choral groups and sang in four choirs at Carnegie High School, then the Yale Glee Club, the Yale Russian Chorus, several madrigal groups, and opera choruses.