Passing of Dr. Menachem Lewin – A Letter From Provost Rekow

Dear Colleagues,
 
It is with great sadness that I write to share the news that Dr. Menachem Lewin, Research Professor in the Polymer Research Institute and the Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences at Polytechnic Institute of NYU, and an internationally acclaimed polymer chemist, passed away last Friday, February 18, in Jerusalem. Dr. Lewin would have turned 93 years of age this March.
 
When he retired from the Hebrew University, Israel in 1986, Lewin was invited by Professor Herman Mark to serve as Research Professor at Polytechnic. From that time until shortly before his death, Lewin spent half of his time at Polytechnic in this role, most recently collaborating with Professor Eli Pearce on the study of flame retardant polymers. His accomplishments late in his life are even more remarkable considering that in 2004 he lost his vision from glaucoma, yet continued an active scientific career.
 
In 1990, Lewin founded the journal, Polymers for Advanced Technologies, published by Wiley. He also organized many international conferences such as Polymers for Advanced Technologies and Recent Advances in Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials. Lewin won many awards and much recognition including the Geneva University Habif Award for outstanding cellulose research in 1959, honorary citizenship of the city of Jerusalem in 1993, the Founders Award of the International Fiber Society in 2005, and the Semplen Award from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2005.
 
He will be greatly missed by his colleagues at NYU-Poly.
 
Sincerely,
Dianne Rekow, Provost