The Spectroscopy Society of Canada has lost one of its founders. Douglas Stewart Russell passed away in his 86th year at his home in Ottawa on March 3, 2002. Doug was born in Georgetown, Ontario, in 1916. He graduated in Chemistry from the University of Toronto and received a master's degree in Analytical Chemistry under the supervision of Fred Beamish in 1941. His first job was supervisor of the control laboratory of the Welland Chemical Works but it was wartime and he was soon transferred to the atomic energy project in Montreal, which was then under the control of the National Research Council. He joined the NRC in 1946 as Head of the Analytical Chemistry Section in the Division of Chemistry, a position that he held until his retirement in 1981. By 1970 he had become a Principal Research Officer, NRC's highest scientific rank.

His laboratory was among the first in Canada to employ infrared spectrophotometry and gas chromatography. He fostered the development of DC arc emission spectrometry as a tool for quantitative analysis. By the mid 1960s his Section was considered a centre of excellence for the quantitative analysis of a large array of materials, and especially, for the determination of trace metal contents. The laboratory fostered significant advances in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, both flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and pioneered the development of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and mass spectrometry as well as glow discharge mass spectrometry.

In 1975, NRC established the Marine Analytical Chemistry Standards Program. Doug's laboratory was given the responsibility for the inorganic aspects of the program with the result that today it is the world's primary source of certified reference materials for the analysis of marine materials for inorganic and organometallic components. The laboratory, today known as Chemical Metrology, is now a component of NRC's Institute for National Measurement Standards and is internationally recognized as Canada's national analytical chemistry laboratory.

In the mid 1950s Doug was one of a group of Ottawa scientists which met regularly to discuss problems regarding the use of spectroscopic methods in analytical chemistry. The group organized an annual meeting for several years known as the Ottawa Symposium on Spectroscopy. This eventually developed into the annual Spectroscopy Symposium and the founding of the Canadian Association for Applied Spectroscopy (now the Spectroscopy Society of Canada). Doug was president of the SSC in 1969. He was made a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada in 1967 and a few years before his retirement was awarded an Honorary Membership in the SSC. He received the Fisher Scientific Lecture Award in Analytical Chemistry in 1979.

Doug was loved and respected by all who worked for and with him. He was devoted to his family. This trait was also extended to his lab family. His legacy continues with the colleagues he once led. As a result, the analytical chemistry group has long been considered to be one of the most rewarding places to work in NRC, both professionally and personally. Doug is survived by his wife Laureen (Larry), three children, a grandchild and a great grandchild.

Shier Berman
Victor Boyko
Ottawa, October 2002.