Remembering Dr. Wolfgang Bertsch and Dr. Bernard Scheiner

Professor Emeritus Wolfgang Bertsch

Wolfgang Bertsch, professor emeritus of chemistry, passed away July 28, 2014 in Boone, NC.  Dr. Bertsch was born in Ludwigsburg Germany on March 17, 1940. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the Academy of Chemistry and Physics, Isny, Germany in 1968, and his Doctoral Degree from the University of Houston in 1973. Dr. Bertsch joined the faculty at The University of Alabama as an analytical chemist specializing in gas chromatography and forensic chemistry in 1974.  As a specialist in chromatography and forensic chemistry, he consulted for several major companies, including Hewett Packard and NASA, where he contributed to the Skylab Project. Dr. Bertsch was author of numerous articles and books, and was an International Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow.  Upon retiring from UA in 2005, Dr. Bertsch had made his home in Boone, NC.

Dr. Bernard “Bernie” Scheiner

Dr. Bernard “Bernie” Scheiner, Sr., an instructor of chemistry, passed away July 31, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Born in Atlantic City, N.J., March 12, 1938, He is a 1958 graduate of Basic High and earned a BS degree from UNLV in 1961 and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1969. At UNLV he was a member of the basketball team where he remains the 26th all-time leading scorer. Dr. Scheiner worked for the U.S. Bureau of Mines first in Reno and beginning in 1979 at the Tuscaloosa Research Center.  He is the author of over 200 scientific publications, the editor of 5 books and holds 17 patents. His field of interest includes solid-liquid separation, hydrometallurgy and flotation fundamentals. In 1994, he received the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers Richard H. Richards award. In his retirement, Dr. Scheiner served as a chemistry instructor at The University of Alabama, where he was a mainstay in the nursing chemistry sequence until his death, as well as serving as the instructor for the Rural Health Scholars chemistry course during the summer.