11/16/05 A Message from Dr. Sandra Weller, Professor and Chair
Molecular, Micobial and Structural Biology
(860) 679-2310
weller@nso2.uchc.edu
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It is with great sorrow that we report the death of our colleague, Dr. Zheng-yu Peng, Ph.D. "Peng" died on November 16, 2005 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was only 45.
Dr. Peng was born in Beijing, China in 1959. His father Dr. Peng Huan-wu, 91, is a noted physicist and his mother was a physician. Peng continued his family´s scientific tradition. He was quite proud of the rigorous science education he received in China, which culminated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Beijing University. In 1982, Dr. Peng came to the United States to continue his studies in Physics at Carnegie Mellon University, and in 1989 he completed his doctoral work and received his Ph.D. degree. He then pursued his childhood dream of working in the biological sciences, first through postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkley, and then in the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1995, he assumed his faculty position at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and quickly rose to the position of Professor in the Department of Molecular, Microbial, and Structural Biology.
Scientific research was his driving passion. His creative and rigorous work focused on the area of protein folding, structure and function, and included work on proteins involved in cancer and other diseases. His outstanding research was widely recognized: he published more than 30 scientific articles based on work supported by major grants from a number of sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation. At the UCHC, Dr. Peng initiated the biophysics core facility, which is utilized as a resource not only by members of the MMSB department but by many other departments at the Health Center and beyond.
Dr. Peng´s great intellect, keen insight, broad knowledge, friendly personality and generous nature were highly valued by his colleagues and co-workers. He was also an outstanding teacher in the classroom and in the laboratory, and his spirit will live on through the numerous students and scientists he trained and influenced throughout his career. Two recent symposia held in Dr. Peng´s honor reiterated what we in MMSB have known for some time, that Dr. Peng is considered one of the major forces in his field and he has influenced a large number of researchers trained both at MIT and UCHC. Many of the speakers at the symposia were co-trainees or students mentored by Dr. Peng who have subsequently achieved prominence in their own rights as faculty at leading research universities, including several Howard Hughes investigators, and these individuals credit Dr. Peng with their rigorous training in protein biochemistry. These and many other colleagues will fondly remember his delight in a fine dinner, preferably prepared by his wife Li, accompanied by an excellent scientific discussion. His scientific research provided him with a great deal of intellectual stimulation and personal satisfaction, and he remained active in the work of his laboratory until his death.
Dr. Peng was a loving husband and father in his unique way to his wife Li Luo and his daughter, Lily. He enjoyed watching and encouraging the development of Lily´s many talents. He is also survived by his father. We all share their sorrow. Colleagues such as Peng are rare jewels, and we are particularly saddened by how short he was allowed to shine.
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