Biochemistry Faculty

George A. Barber

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Emeritus Professor (Deceased - October, 2007)

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In Memory:

Professor George A. Barber passed away after a short illness on October 26, 2007. Professor Barber was awarded an A.B. Degree from Rutgers University in 1951 and a Ph.D. Degree in plant physiology and chemistry from Columbia University in 1955 under the direction of Prof. R.F. Dawson. He served as a research biochemist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and at The Stanford Research Institute before taking a research position in the laboratory of Prof. W.Z. Hassid at the University of California-Berkeley, which he held until 1965. He then joined the faculty of the University of Hawaii as Associate Professor of Biochemistry, a position he held until 1968 when he accepted an appointment in the Department of Biochemistry at the Ohio State University at the rank of Full Professor. Professor Barber continued to serve worthily on the faculty until his retirement in 1987.

Professor Barber's most intense research interest was in the complex area of cellulose biosynthesis in higher plants. He began this pioneering work in Prof. Hassid's laboratory and continued to conduct research in this area throughout the rest of his career. He also studied extensively the metabolism of sucrose and flavanoids in plants as well as sugar nucleotides particularly those aspects involving the sugars rhamnose and fucose. His research was supported for many years by grants from the National Institutes of Health. As a notable accomplishment, the beta anomers of rhamnosyl- and fucosyl-phosphates were chemically synthesized for the first time in his laboratory.

Professor Barber taught (and taught well) at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He had high expectations and many undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows were well-trained under his unique style of mentoring and direction.

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