Frank Brink Jr.

When Frank Brink Jr. first began investigating how neurons work, he could not have known how significant a part he would play in mapping the unknown territory of the human brain. His research added considerably to our understanding of neuronal activity and his dedication as an educator provided constant inspiration to his colleagues, both at Rockefeller University and elsewhere. Dr. Brink passed away June 6, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
    Born November 4, 1910 in Easton, Pennsylvania, Dr. Brink’s undergraduate education was at Pennsylvania State University. He then earned a master’s degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1935. Four years later, he received a doctorate in biophysics from the Johnson Research Foundation for Medical Physics at the University of Pennsylvania, where his long and fruitful association with Detlev W. Bronk — then director of the foundation — began. Dr. Brink taught at the Johnson Foundation and at Cornell University until 1947, when he was appointed assistant professor of biophysics at Johns Hopkins University. He became associate professor there in 1949. During World War II he also served as a special consultant to the air surgeon of the United States Air Force.
    Dr. Brink’s research, much of it in collaboration with Dr. Bronk, focused on the cycle of excitation, response and recovery in nerve fibers. Dr. Brink became a member of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in 1953, when Dr. Bronk was appointed president. He was deeply involved in the creation and development of the institute’s graduate educational program in the mid-1950s, serving as professor and acting dean of graduate studies from 1954 to 1958 and dean from 1958 to 1972. He was named Detlev W. Bronk Professor in 1974, a post he held until his retirement in 1981. He received an honorary doctorate of science from The Rockefeller University in 1983.
    Dr. Brink is survived by his daughter Patricia Mayer, son David Warner and two grandchildren, Jesse Foley Brink and Shantia Mayer.