Eugene Hess

Dr. Eugene Hess is a 1931 graduate of Lincoln High School, where he was active in drama, athletics, music, debate, and journalism.  He was also a member of the National Honor Society.  In 1930, Hess broke four school track records.

After graduation from high school, Hess pursued a career in science.  At the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology, he earned a B.S. in Chemistry in 1938.  From 1940 to 1946, Hess served in the U.S. Army and, after rising to Lieutenant Colonel, was awarded three Bronze Stars.  In 1948 he earned a doctorate in Physical Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin.  From 1948 to 1958, Hess was on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Medical School, where he carried out research on proteins and nucleic acids and taught biophysics.

From 1958 to 1965, he was Senior Scientist at The Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology.  During that time, he also taught at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He was head of the Molecular Biology Section of the National Science Foundation from 1965 to 1971.  At that time he became Executive Director of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) until his retirement in 1980.  Since retirement, Hess has served as a consultant and trustee for various scientific organizations around the world.

Dr. Hess is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He is also the author of more than 100 articles in scientific journals.

Next to his Prowler yearbook picture is the statement, “There may be greater men in the world, but I don’t believe it.”  Looking at his accomplishments, he may be right.