Robert Maxwell, who had a distinguished career in pharmacology, died peacefully Dec. 27, 2014, after battling cancer for several months. He was 87.

After high school graduation in 1945, Maxwell joined the Army Air Corps and served as a weather analyst in Japan with the U.S. occupation forces. In 1951, he graduated from Syracuse University, and in 1954 he was awarded a Ph.D. in biology from Princeton.

Maxwell then began his career in pharmacology. He oversaw research and development of new medicines (including the anti-depressant Wellbutrin) while working at CIBA and Burroughs Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline).

Before he retired in 1992, Maxwell wrote Drug Discovery: A Casebook and Analysis, a book about drug development. He had a wide range of interests and activities, and was a lifelong lover of the arts. A reported possessor of a dry sense of humor, he also relished a good pun.

Maxwell is survived by Lillian, his wife of 58 years; three children (including Madeline ’81); and five grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA

Graduate Class of 1954