July 27, 2011
Passings: Professor Emeritus H. Glenn Wight
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- H. Glenn Wight, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, passed away on July 23, 2011, in San Luis Obispo at the age of 90.
A decorated veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry during World War II, Glenn earned his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. He began teaching at Cal Poly in 1952 at a starting salary of $325 per month, when the campus had 3,000 students — all men. He joined the Physical Sciences Department, which at the time included chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy, and had 10 faculty members.
Professor Wight was instrumental in creating a Chemistry Department that offered a major accredited by the American Chemical Society. His senior project research with many students ultimately led to four U.S. patents. The first was in 1978 (with Biology Professor Tracey Call and student Marvin
Mortensen) for the discovery of compounds that protected mice against otherwise lethal doses of radiation.
He retired officially from Cal Poly in 1990 but continued to teach part-time as an unpaid volunteer until 1998.
Professor Wight once wrote: “In all the 46 years I taught there (including the last eight part-time years), I always felt it was a privilege to know the students I came in contact with.”