I'hv~tol~)gy ~#td Beh~4v#ot, Vcq 8, pp 13') Ilg} I'Jtrtlfl I~(~}~,dl~.ll PUbll~,dt loUn |11~, , 1972 P r i n t e d m t a t o a t 14rllalrl

James Alexander Frederick Stevenson (1918-1971)

G O R D O N M O G E N S O N

Deparlment oJ Phy~tolog)', University of Western Ontarto, London, Canada

(Received 27 December 1971)

MOtIENSON, (J. James Alexander Frederick Stevenson (1918-1971). PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 8 (2) 159-160, 1972.--A biographical sketch.

Stevenson Biographical sketch

PROFESSOR J. A. F. Stevenson died in Zurich, Switzerland on July 23, 1971 while travelling with his wife and daughter, Catherine, to the International Congress of Physiological Sciences in Munich. He was a member of the Council of IUPS and was to have attended the meetings of the Council the following day. At the official opening of the Congress on July 25th many of his scientific colleagues around the world heard, for the first time, the news of his untimely death. A tribute was paid at the opening session to his contribution to the physiological sciences as a member of the council of IUPS and Editor of the IUPS Newsletter as well as to his scientific contributions in the field of Regulatory and Behavioral Physiology. A few days later, the participants at the Satellite Conference (IVth International Conference on the Regulation of Food and Water Intake) meeting at Cambridge University also paid tribute to the memory of their esteemed colleague. Jim Stevenson had played a major role in organizing the 1st conference of this group, which was held in Leiden in 1962, and he was the organizing secretary for the 2nd conference that met at Tokyo in 1965.

James Stevenson was born in Nanton, Alberta on March 15, 1918. His father came from Scotland at an early age and upon graduating in Theology became a Presbyterian minister. After a short term in England teaching theology, he returned to Canada and continued to serve jointly as a Presbyterian minister and High School Principal. His mother was also a University graduate and gifted teacher. In his early formative years the family moved around Canada as his father's ecclesiastical charges changed, and he often spoke with empathy of his days "in the manse" when the family lived in various parts of Canada, His ability to speak French fluently stemmed from their days in the province of Quebec. Jim came to cherish and value the distinctive features of Canadian life and culture and was in later years a strong proponent and supporter of the aspirations and ventures of Canadians. He began his studies at McGill University at 16 years of age and received an Honors B.A. in Psychology in 1937, an M.A. in Psychology in 1938 and then an M.D. in 1942. He interned at The Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and in 1943 became a Captain in the Royal Canadian Army Medical

Corps. F rom 1944 to 1946 he was with the Directorate of Medical Services, Canadian Army Overseas, where he served as Nutritional Advisor completing his military service with the rank of Major in the RCAMC. In 1946 Jim Stevenson wemt to Yale University as a Caverhill Fellow in the Department of Physiological Chemistry and was associ- ated with Professors C. N. H, Long and John R. Brobeck. From 1948 to 1950 he worked in the Departments of Physi- ology and Psychiatry with Professor J. F. Fulton serving as Research Assistant and Assistant Professor. His early research work at that time on hypothalamic obesity in the rat is well known.

At the time of his death, Jim Stevenson was Professor of Physiology at the University of Western Ontario and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Prior to becoming Dean he had been Professor and Head of the Department of Physiology at Western from 1951 to 1970. He played a very active and important role in numerous activities of the University and his contributions to the University Senate were typical of his dynamic and effective leadership. His role in the Senate was described by his colleague, Peter Forsyth, Professor of Physics, at the Memorial Service held at the University of Western Ontario, on July 26, and will remind many of his friends of the quality of the leadership he gave in many scientific societies and activities at the national and international level ; "Dr. Stevenson was one of the architects of the present Senate. He believed firmly in a strong Senate and anything Jim Stevenson believed in had the support of his powerful, forceful and dynamic personality. Most academics suffer from divided loyalties, one loyalty to the University, one to the scholarly discipline and the other to their professional career, But Dr. Stevenson had long since melded his activities and attached them to one over- riding loyalty to the University, which in his view encompassed all the others. The causes which he supported in the Senate and elsewhere were evidence of that dedication. To each he devoted long hours and much energy, always tempered with a sense of fun and the kind of humor we have heard about already. But even in the midst of the most heated disputes never did he lose that remarkable sensitivity and compassion

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for the weaknesse~ and lmpertections of others. In the~e disputes he had many allies and adversaries but no ally was immune to public chastisement and no adversary to public praise if Jim thought it was deserved."

Jim Stevenson was a loyal supporter of the Canadmn Physiological Society for more than two decades, serving as Secretary of the Society from 1956 to 1960 and President from 1964 to 1965. He worked for more effective liaison of biological societies in Canada, imtially by promoting the formation of the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies and more recently by serving as President of the Biological Council of Canada, (1968-69) and Vice-president of the Assocmtion of the Scientific, Engineering and Technologacal Community of Canada (1970--71). In 1968 Dr. Stevenson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Although Jim Stevenson's career was in Physiology and Medicine his early interests in the study of behavior persisted. He was among the growing number of Physiologists con- cerned with the scientific investigation of how behavioral responses contributed to homeostasis. He developed an active research group with broad interests; a large number of his publications were concerned with regulatory and be- havioral physiology. He is best known for his studies of hypothalamic regulations, particularly for investigations of

hypothalamtc mechanisms ul the control ol water and energy balance. He was especially noted for a comprehenswe view of experimental problems in this field which was evident m his several authoritative chapters and reviews on this subject and for his broad range of interests and competence during symposia and scientific discussions. Often he would walt until everyone else had spoken, defending a viewpoint, arguing about this or that, straying from the point and forgetting the main issue, and then he would throw in a pertinent, often witty comment which would suddenly bring everything into focus again and provoke a relaxing bout of laughter from the audience.

Although we recognize the extensive contributions to science, to the scientific community and to the Umversaty and academic community, for many people Jam Stevenson will be remembered best for his human qualatles, the unique face and manner, the robust and sometimes unpredictable bram and intellect, the sharp and at times abraswe wit, the gregarious yet sensmtwe personahty, the loyalty and sense of responsabdity to his colleagues and the passion for fairness and justice. For many of us this man was a dear friend and colleague who is sorrily missed. Dr. Stevenson is survived by his wife Joan, son Skai, and four daughters, Penelope, Alexandra, Catherine and Margaret.