Professional Tributes (By K.C. Nicolaou)

Murray Goodman was an engaging colleague, a great scientist, and above all, a good friend to the many people that knew him. I was one of those fortunate people who knew Murray well and considered him to be my friend. Indeed, Murray was instrumental in bringing me to La Jolla to join UCSD and Scripps in 1989 and for that I will be forever grateful to him. His influence on my career did not stop there, for he was always loyal to me as a colleague and friend. I remember with fondness the frequent telephone calls I received from him whether it was to talk about some issue in the department or some news he wanted to share with me, or simply to invite me to lunch for companionship and discussion.

Murray was also my neighbor in La Jolla Farms, a community in which he took great pride and enriched through many initiatives. We would always meet at parties of the community and share delicious ethnic foods, ideas, concerns and future plans. With Zelda by his side, they would always seek out Georgette and me for a chat or to invite us to dinner at their house, and through these encounters we came to appreciate both their warmth and concern for their neighbors and fellow citizens.

As a scientist, Murray Goodman was respected around the world, his name being almost synonymous with peptide chemistry. Indeed, when it came to combining molecular design, synthesis and biological evaluation of peptides and peptide mimetics, Murray was the best, simply the master. I remembered the pride and content with which he would present me as a gift each and every volume of the Houben-Weyl series on peptides, which he edited, as they were published. He took pride in his work and his students. His energy was unparalleled and his enthusiasm infectious. Murray simply loved his science and he devoted an enormous amount of his strength to it - teaching, researching, motivating, and inspiring. He was literally everywhere, doing everything that had to be done, whether it was in the department, at home, or in the community. He was also loved and admired internationally. Indeed, I have not been to a country where his name was not mentioned with affection by those who considered him as a pioneer, a bundle of energy and a good friend.

Murray Goodman will be remembered for his warmth as much as for his science and engaging personality. His countless friends and admirers will always hold him dear to their hearts. The photo below shows him among some of his friends and colleagues attending a recent Symposium at The Scripps Research Institute, a habit he always had time for.