Karl Bellve wrote:
>
>      Fredric S. Fay, 53, Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at the
> University of Massachusetts Medical School and a member of the Program in
> Molecular Medicine died unexpectedly March 18, 1997 in Halle, Germany
> where he was presenting a paper to the German Society for Cell Biology.  He
> was born in New York City, the son of Claire and Herbert Fay.  His parents
> emigrated from Germany in 1937 to escape Nazi oppression.  He graduated
> from the Bronx High School  of Science in 1961, and then attended Cornell
> University where he graduated cum laude with distinction in all subjects and
> was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  Dr. Fay received his Ph.D. in Physiology at
> Harvard University where he studied the mechanism of contraction of muscle
> cells as a Samuel A. Levine Fellow of the Massachusetts Heart Association.
> He then became one of the founding faculty members at the newly
> established University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1970.  At
> UMMS, his seminal research on the function of smooth muscle cells
> provided the basis of modern understanding of how these cells contract and
> opened a new field of investigation that has attracted scientists around the
> world.  He also pioneered the development of the digital imaging microscope
> which allows researchers and clinicians to study living cells in new ways,
> paving the way for lifesaving insights on how those cells work.  His
> laboratory has received international recognition and has been visited by
> distinguished scholars from Europe, Asia and the Americas. During his
> twenty-seven years at UMMS, he mentored numerous medical students,
> graduate students and post doctoral fellows who have become faculty
> members at universities throughout the world.  At UMMS, he was the first
> member to be recognized by the NIH with a Research Career Development
> Award.  Dr. Fay received numerous awards and research grants, including
> the Telegram and Gazette 2000 Enterprise Award in 1991, the Admiral R.
> Earl Award of the Worcester Engineering Society, and the Glaxo
> Cardiovascular Award.  His accomplishments include over 100 publications
> in leading scientific journals. He will be sorely missed by his wife, Dr.
> Madeleine Fay, Endocrinologist, Fallon Clinic, his sister, Louise Fay
> Bergman, his sons, Drs. Andrew Fay and Nicholas Fay, resident physicians
> at UMMC, his daughter Isabel Fay, and his grandchildren Sarah, David and
> Julia.
>
>      In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to the Fredric S.
> Fay Memorial fund c/o H. Maurice Goodman, Department of Physiology at UMMS,
> 55 Lake Ave., Worcester, MA 01655
>
> Dr. Karl Bellve
> Biomedical Imaging Group
> University of Massachusetts
> WWW  : http://molmed.ummed.edu/~kdb/
> Email: [log in to unmask] Dr. Bellve,

Our sincerest condolences to the Umass staff and family of Dr. Fay. He
was an incredible catalyst for growth in microscopy and, especially in
3-D imaging, and will be sorely missed.

Barbara Foster, President
Microscopy/Marketing and Education