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Memorial to Irving A. Breger 1920-1982 HARRY J

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Memorial to Irving A. Breger 1920-1982 HARRY J Memorial to Irving A. Breger 1920-1982 HARRY J. ROSE. JR. Products International. 1413 Ash Court. Rockville, Maryland 20853 PATRICK G. HATCHER U.S. Geological Survey, Rest on, Virginia 22092 Irving Breger. internationally known organic geochemist, died suddenly after a heart attack on October 13. 1982. at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Maryland. A native of Boston. Massachusetts. Breger attended Worchester Polvtechnical Institute, receiving a B.S. degree in 1941 and a M.S. in organic chemistry in 1947. In 1950 he received a Ph.D. in geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While attend­ ing these schools. Breger held the following positions: Inspector of Powder and Explosives for the Boston Office of the War Department: assistant senior chemist for the Koppers United Company in Monaco. Pennsyl­ vania; research chemist for Publicker Commercial Alcohol Company in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania: and research associate in geology at M.I.T. in Cambridge. Massachusetts. In the course of his graduate studies at M.I.T.. Breger worked as a close associate of the late Professor W. L. Whitehead at the American Petroleum Institute conducting studies on the effects of micro-organisms and radioactivity on the origin of petroleum. Breger was then awarded two consecutive Fulbright research grants and conducted studies on lignin and humic substances at the University of Delft in the Netherlands in 1950 and 1951. In 1952. Breger joined the U.S. Geological Survey: for the next thirty years he devoted his career to the study of fossil fuels, with particular emphasis on their modes of occurrence. While most of his early work was directed toward the association of uranium with fossil fuels, he later focussed his efforts on studies of the origin of fossil fuels and related substances. In recognition of these studies, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1966 to study the chemical structure of coal at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia. Breger’s international stature was further enhanced through his editing of Organic Geochemistry, an authoritative text on fundamental concepts, and by his becoming the first editor-in-chief of the prestigous journal of the same name. He has written or collaborated on more than 100 scientific reports and papers, many of which were presented at national and international scientific meetings. Breger was a dedicated teacher of geochemistry. He served as adjunct professor of chemistry and earth sciences at American University, and as visiting professor of chemistry and geology at the University of Maryland. One of his proudest achievements was the establishment of a graduate program in organic geochemistry at Maryland, the first such program in the United States. He also served as a consultant to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and to the Institute of Geochemistry at the Central University of Venezuela. 2 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA Breger was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and a member of the American Institute of Chemists, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Washington Academy of Science, American Oil Chemists Society, Sigma Xi, the Society of Economic Geologists, the Geochemical Society (secretary, 1950-1962: chairman, 1965). the Geological Society of Washington, the International Association of Sedimentologists, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the American Chemical Society, where he played a key role in establishing the Division of Geochemisty. Breger retired from the U.S. Geological Survey in 1980, but his enthusiasm for remaining active never diminished as he continued to work on a part-time basis. He had a genuine and intense zest for enjoying life in all its facets, brightening outlooks for all with whom he came in contact. He had a great concern for his associates, both in their scientific progress and in the well being of their families. His sincere compassion and his ready sense of humor are what colleagues and friends remember most about Irv Breger. Breger is survived by his wife. Ruth, who invariably accompanied him on his numerous domestic and foreign travels. He also leaves a son. Joel; a daughter. Iris Wilbur; a sister. Ida Goldberg, of Danvers, Massachusetts; and two grandchildren. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF I. A. BREGER 1950 (with Whitehead, W. L.) The origin of petroleum: Effects of low temperature pyrolysis on the organic extract of a recent marine sediment: Science, v. Ill, p. 335-337. 1951 The chemical and structural relationship of lignin to humic substances: Fuel, v. 30. p. 204-208. 1952 (with Varossieau. W. W.) Chemical studies on ancient buried wood and the origin of humus: Comptes Rendues. Third Congress of Stratigraphy and Carboniferous Geology, p. 637-646. 1955 (and Duel. M.. and Rubinstein. S.) Geochemistry and mineralogy of a uraniferous lignite: Economic Geology, v. 50. p. 610-624. 1958 The geochemistry of coal: Economic Geology, v. 53. p. 823-841. I960 Diagenesis of metabolites and a discussion of the origin of petroleum hydrocarbons: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. v. 20. p. 30-44. 1963 (Editor) Organic Geochemistry. Pergamon Press. 653 p. ____ (and Brown. A.) Distribution and types of organic matter in a bored marine basin: Transitions of the New York Academy of Sciences. Serial II. v. 25. p. 741-755. 1966 Geochemistry of the lipids: Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society, v. 43. p. 196-202. 1975 The role of organic matter in the accumulation of uranium: The organic geochemistry of the coal-uranium association: Proceedings of the Symposium on Formation of Uranium Ore Deposits. Athens. Greece. May 1974. Vienna. International Atomic Energy Agency, p. 99-124. 1977 Geochemical interrelationships among fossil fuels, marsh, and landfill gas: The Future Supply of Nature-made Petroleum and Gas. Oxford. Pergamon Press, p. 913-918. 1982 (with Hatcher, P. G.. Szeverenyi. N. M., and Maciel. G E.) Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of ancient buried wood: Observations on the origin of coal from lignite to bituminous coal: Organic Geochemistry, v. 4, p. 9-18. Printed in U.S.A. V'86.
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