Alfred Prock, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, died on April 5, 2019 at the age of 88.
He was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. At the age of 10, he fell in love with chemistry. A graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, he looked back on his high school years with great fondness. He earned a Phi Beta Kappa key as a chemical engineering major at Johns Hopkins University. He continued studies at Hopkins, earning his PhD in Chemistry in 1955. He did a year of post-doctoral work with Peter Debye at Harvard University, following Debye to Cornell to complete his post-doc. He joined the faculty at Boston University in 1961, teaching in the six-year medical program, which began that year. He received the “Up and Coming Young Scientist” award from Chemical Engineering News in the early 1960’s. He co-authored 50 published papers. A gifted teacher, he received the BU’s Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1978. He retired in 2009. His students wrote, often decades later, telling him what a difference his classes made in their lives. Here is a quote. “You taught me much more than chemistry, you taught me how to think, a new way of looking at the world. All these years later, your lectures and discussion sections stand in my mind as the most stimulating and enlightening hours of my life.”
He enjoyed camping, classical and folk music, and a series of magnificent felines. Marley was his favorite.
Alfred is survived by his wife of 66 years, Peggy, his son David, daughter-in-law Lisa, grandsons Luke and Logan, and daughter, Susan.
Funeral services will be private.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Good Shepherd Community Hospice. www.gscommunitycare.org