In memoriam

Te May Ching

ASA and CSSA Fellow Te May Ching, Freemont, CA, passed away on 21 Apr. 2020. Ching was born on 9 Jan. 1923 in Soo Chow, China. She met her late husband Kim Kwong Ching when in undergraduate studies at Central University in Nanking, China. They married on 10 Aug. 1947 in Shanghai, China. The moved to the U.S. in 1948 for master's and doctoral studies at Michigan State University.

Ching received her Ph.D. in Plant Cytogenetics in 1954. In 1956, she obtained a post-doctoral fellowship in plant physiology research for two years before becoming a professor of seed research at Oregon State University in the Crop Science Department from 1956 until her retirement in 1988. Ching and her husband moved to Fremont, CA in 1998.

During her tenure, Ching participated in advisory groups such as the College of Agricultural Science long-range planning, Northwest Forest Tree Seed Committee, President's Commission on Human Rights and Responsibilities, Association of Women in Science (AWIS), and the Fulbright Commission, among others. She published numerous research papers, gave many presentations, and was a member of ASA and CSSA for 30 years as well as the American Society of Plant Physiologists and AAAS.

Ching is survived by her son, Franklin Gee-Ten Ching and wife Carolyn Ching, her daughter, Annabel Ching Allen and husband Richard Allen, and her youngest sister, Da Zhu Tsou Tang in addition to numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nephews.

Morris Schnitzer

SSSA and ASA Fellow Morris Schnitzer, born in Bochum, Germany, passed away on 9 June 2020 at the age of 98. He published a book on his early life odyssey under the title My Three Selves (Lugus Publications, Toronto, 2002), soon to be reissued as a textbook under a new title by the Azrieli Foundation. He obtained his B.Sc. in 1951, M.Sc. in 1952, and Ph.D. in 1955 in Soil Chemistry all from McGill University, Canada. From 1954 to 1956, he worked as a Research and Development Chemist for the Aluminum Company of Canada (ALCAN) in Arvida, QC, Canada. In 1956, he joined the Research Branch of Agriculture Canada. Initially, his research dealt with the formation of complexes between metals and fulvic acid in Spodosols soils. From 1961 to 1962, Schnitzer did post-doctorate studies in the Organic Chemistry Department of the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England, under the guidance of Sir Derek Barton, Nobel Laureate in Organic Chemistry. He conducted his research on a Spodosol fulvic acid, which he had brought from Canada.

After his return to Canada, Schnitzer started a long-term investigation on the oxidative degradation of humic acids, fulvic acids, and humins as well as whole soils, using a variety of oxidants. In the early 1980s, his research focused on 13C-NMR analysis of humic substances, soil organic matter, and whole soils. In other investigations, Schnitzer and his co-workers examined colloid-chemical properties of humic materials, mechanism of water retention, and reaction with metals and minerals and with organic pollutants including pesticides. A more comprehensive account of Schnitzer's research has been published in Advances in Agronomy (volume 68, p. 1–58).

Schnitzer retired in January 1991 and was appointed Emeritus Distinguished Research Scientist by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He continued his research until 2012. He authored and coauthored more than 400 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, three books including the first book published on humic substances in the environment, and numerous book chapters on humic materials and soil organic matter.

Schnitzer received numerous fellowships and awards throughout his career. He was chairman of Commission II (Soil Chemistry) of the International Society of Soil Science (1978–1982) and served on the editorial boards of the Canadian Journal of Soil Science, Soil Science, and Geoderma.

Schnitzer will be greatly missed by his friends, colleagues, co-workers, and scientists all over the world involved in humic research. He is survived by his daughter Eve Schnitzer and her family.