Preface

Abstract

Dr. Gilda H. Loew, 70, president and founder of the Molecular Research Institute in Mountain View, California, passed away on January 5, 2001, after a long and valiant struggle against breast cancer. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Loew attended Erasmus Hall High School and then earned a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry at New York University. After completing a Master's Degree in Chemistry at Columbia University, she subsequently earned a doctorate in Chemical Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. In a succession of positions during the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Loew was a pioneer in the application of computational chemistry to problems in the biological sciences. She began a long association with Stanford University in 1969. In 1979, Dr. Loew formed the Molecular Research Institute (MRI), where she led the efforts of a team of scientists for the next two decades. Establishing MRI was an expression of Dr. Loew's independent spirit, her persistence, and her desire to contribute successfully and productively to responsible science on her own terms. Dr. Loew is best known for the computational investigation of the structural and functional aspects of heme proteins and enzymes, to which she devoted more than four decades. She studied the electronic structure and electromagnetic properties, the mechanisms of heme-catalyzed reactions, substrate metabolism by heme enzymes, and her laboratory constructed and used the first three-dimensional models of heme proteins. In addition, her research interests covered such diverse topics as the mechanisms by which drugs such as opioids and anxiolytics stimulate receptors in the brain, the computer-aided risk assessment of chemical carcinogens, multicomponent chemical systems, and prebiotic synthesis and interstellar molecules. As listed in this volume, her publications include over 300 scientific articles, reviews, and book chapters co-authored with many associates in many countries and from many disciplines. Her co-authors were often young scientists whom she mentored with care and prepared for successful independent careers. The tireless support of these colleagues and the pride she took in their successes are most memorable. Dr. Loew was an enthusiastic and stimulating participant in the activities of many professional organizations, demonstrating the breadth of her interests and her ability to cross disciplines. She was a longstanding member of the American Chemical Society and was also a member of the American Physical Society, the Biophysical Society, the International Society of the Origin of Life, the International Society of Quantum Biology & Pharmacology, the New York Academy of Science, and American Women in Science. She served these societies in many leadership positions as a dedicated member of key committees and task forces that enhanced the lives and activities of thousands of her colleagues. She was president of the International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology from 1990 to 1992 and served on numerous editorial boards as well as review and policy committees for the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration. Dr. Loew was a passionate conversationalist and debater of ideas and a favorite participant in professional and social gatherings of scientific colleagues and intellectuals around the world. Her personality and interactions were driven and sustained by her great passion for literature, the arts, dancing, politics, and travel. She leaves an unfillable void in the hearts and minds of all who knew her. This issue celebrates Gilda Loew's remarkable achievements as a researcher and scholar, and her boundless enthusiasm for science. This could be achieved only with the help of her many colleagues, students, and associates whose contributions help highlight the diversity of scientific areas in which she was active. Dr. Loew was particularly fond of the Sanibel Symposia organized yearly by the Quantum Theory Project and published in the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry (IJQC). We are therefore especially grateful to the Editors of IJQC for making this special issue possible.