Published in Probe Volume 3(1-2): January-June 1993
On December 15, 1992, the National
Agricultural Library (NAL) regretfully
learned of the death of Dr. Robert Warmbrodt, who had been coordinator of the
NAL's Biotechnology Information Center since December 17, 1990. Dr.
Warmbrodt, 45, died of AIDS-related complications. Memorial services and
interment were held by his family in Missouri.
Dr. Warmbrodt had been a plant physiologist with 20 years of professional experience prior to joining the staff of NAL. He had conducted laboratory research in the Climate Stress and the Plant Physiology Laboratories at the Agriculture Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center from 1978-90. His primary interests concerned the cellular and molecular aspects of photosynthate partitioning.
A native of Boonville, Missouri, Dr. Warmbrodt had an AB degree in botany and chemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a master's degree in botany and a Ph.D in botany and horticulture, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Go”ttingen in G”ttingen, Germany.
Dr. Warmbrodt's other work experience included research in horticulture at the University of Maryland-College Park and in botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; teaching assignments in botany at Ohio State UniversityColumbus and the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and a year collecting plants in Panama and Costa Rica for the Missouri Botanical Gardens.
As Coordinator of the Biotechnology Information Center, Dr. Warmbrodt managed the acquisition, compilation, and dissemination of information on the impact of the science of biotechnology on agriculture in the United States and the world. He was concerned with all aspects of agricultural biotechnology as well as the theory and techniques of genetic engineering, plant and animal tissue culture, risk assessment of the release of genetically-engineered organisms, and regulation of the field of biotechnology. He authored or coauthored numerous NAL publications, particularly in the two series Quick Bibliographies and Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture.