Deceased February 28, 2015
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50th Reunion Book Entry
In Memory
Amherst lost a great friend, and the world of biotechnology a major contributor, when Bernard Witholt passed away from pancreatic cancer late in February.
Bernie was born in Holland in 1941. After the war, the family left for Brazil. They lived in Sao Paolo, later Rio. In between, Bernie spent a year in a Mennonite colony and another back in Holland. The family immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1959, where Bernie became a self-described "multilingual puzzle" to his high school guidance counselor. The counselor initially steered him toward agriculture--but not before seeking a favor of Amherst's Dean Wilson. The young Dutchman (who had never heard of Amherst) was interviewed, admitted, and awarded a scholarship in a single day in April, 1960.
Friends and classmates remember Bernie's optimism, his cheerfulness, and above all his curiosity. He majored in biology and was a stalwart of the varsity crew, a sport that engaged him for the rest of his life. He took his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins, where he roomed with Tom Jacobs and Pete Hauschka. He then married Pete's sister Margaret and embarked for a post-doc at UCSD, where their daughter Anna was born. His professional life thereafter was in Europe, first at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and, since 1992, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
The research groups Bernie led at both institutions are credited with foundational work in microbial biotechnology. He was widely recognized by his peers as among the most original, provocative, and productive people in their field, a teacher and mentor as well as an innovator. He described his broad interest as the "potential of biosystems...to do real chemistry". That led him into environmental biotechnology, biocatalysis, petrochemical biorefineries, biofeedstocks, bioplastics. He thought all the time about useful applications for his ideas, and possible ways of achieving industrial-scale production. He advocated for his ideas in academic, government, and industry circles. He was a visionary with boundless enthusiasm for his work, and practical approaches toward completing and promoting it.
In 2007, the Dutch royal family recognized Bernie's work with its highest civilian honor, The Order of the Netherlands Lion (De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw), which is given for exceptional achievements in art, science, and literature. He was cited mostly for his work in Groningen, where in addition to his research and teaching he was the initiator of a science park and several startups. He is probably our only knighted classmate.
Bernie retired briefly in 2006, but as long as he had a lab to work in and colleagues to interact with he could not stay away. He is survived by his second wife, Renske Heddema, five siblings, Anna, and his grandchildren Skye and Luna.
The pictures are of Bernie with Skye (left) and Luna, and with the "professors' crew" not so many years ago. He helped organize friendly rowing competitions among faculty groups from Swiss, German, and Dutch universities.
Peter Wintersteiner ’64
Roger Mills ’64
Doug Reilly ’64