In Memoriam

by Michelle Farkas

Bhavna Kalyanaraman (PhD ’26) passed away on April 30, 2026 following her battle with cancer. Originally from Chennai, India, Bhavna received Bachelor and Master of Technology degrees in Bioengineering and Medical Nanotechnology from SASTRA University (India). Bhavna first arrived in the chemistry department in Spring 2019 as a visiting scholar in the Rotello lab, where she worked on synthesis and functionalization of gold nanoparticles for bio-orthogonal catalysis. Bhavna and UMass Chemistry were a good match, and after completing her degree back in India, she returned to start our graduate program in September 2020. 

Bhavna joined the Farkas group, where her doctoral research focused on developing reporter platforms to track the circadian rhythms of core clock and cancer-associated components in cells. She defended her dissertation in October 2025 and received her PhD in February 2026. Bhavna was an enthusiastic and highly productive researcher. Her work resulted in two first-author manuscripts; another has been accepted and the last is in preparation. Bhavna made many contributions to the UMass community, including through her participation in the Chemistry Biology Interface (CBI) program, ResearchFests (receiving a William E. McEwen Fellowship Award for outstanding poster in 2022), Graduate Women in STEM (GWIS; also serving as Finance co-Chair), and the Association for the Professional Development of Chemists (APDC). 

Bhavna had a great impact on those around her. She worked hard, was a fantastic colleague, and had a wonderful sense of humor. Bhavna cared deeply for others, especially her labmates. She was also an exceptional mentor, in the lab and classroom. Bhavna’s former undergraduate mentees credit her with fostering their interests in research, resulting in their own pursuits of graduate degrees. After completing her PhD, Bhavna was an Associate Manager at Pfizer Inc., supporting the Medical Communications team in developing evidence-based medical content for diverse audiences. 

by Paul Lahti

Professor Emeritus Ronald D. Archer, age 93, passed away in Amherst on 25 April 2026 after a struggle with poor health. A PhD recipient from University of Illinois (J. C. Baillar) in 1959, he was at UCal-Riverside for four years, then joined the faculty of Tulane University for three years. The UMass Chemistry Department enticed him to join in September 1996 as associate professor, and he rapidly established a strong reputation internally and abroad, building a highly regarded program in coordination chemistry and a career-long commitment to teaching, education, and mentoring. He was promoted to full professor by 1970, and became department head in January 1977 following selection by his peers. He led the department through some hard financial times up to 1983, when he returned to bolster the faculty at large with his continued stalwart teaching and research.

His reputation led to numerous, regular speaking tours nationally and overseas, year after year, as he consistently maintained a skilled and productive research group producing high quality alums who gained their own scientific and leadership recognition. Ron also perennially served roles in the American Chemical Society promoting education and career building in chemistry and related sciences, including strong leadership he provided in service committees and as a councillor.

After a career of leadership, service, and uplifting departmental and professional activities, he turned happily to sharing widely his love of music (clarinet and singing), and to local service with the Masons, Rotarians, and Melha Shriners. Those of us who had the fortune of knowing and working with him will remember his smile and gentle laughter, joined with his constancy and firm supportiveness. He was never confrontational, but he let you know where he stood and what he thought, politely but firmly. He was not demonstrative, but you knew he was there for you. He never “blew his own horn,” but his worth was clearly seen by those who looked: he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1981, and lends his name to a Departmental Award for Excellence in Graduate Research. The warmth of his personality and his optimistic outlook will be sorely missed by friends and family alike.

by Craig Martin

Professor Emeritus John F. Brandts, at the age of 91, passed away peacefully at home July 1, 2025, surrounded by family. After training at Miami/Ohio University (BS & MS), the University of Minnesota (PhD), and Princeton University (postdoc), in 1962 he was hired as a Professor of Organic Chemistry at UMass Amherst. He quickly became an international leader in thermodynamic studies of protein stability and interactions using various microcalorimetry approaches. His contributions to the theory of these processes was seminal, and in 1964, to test his two-state protein folding hypothesis, he built his first microcalorimeter. The data supported what is now an established cornerstone of theories in protein structure and stability. In 1977, he founded (initially in his garage!) MicroCal, Inc, to produce high quality and high sensitivity microcalorimeters. Indeed, MicroCal became synonymous with microcalorimetry, representing the state-of-the-art, then and now. As early as 1967, he was awarded the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship, and in recognition of his contributions to the fields of thermochemistry and thermodynamics, in 1999 he was awarded the prestigious Hugh M. Huffman Memorial Award from the Calorimetry Society. Requiring precise data analysis, in 1992, MicroCal spun off a company now known as OriginLab; software Origin Pro software is now used worldwide for data analyses of all kinds. Professor Brandts retired from UMass in 1990 and from both businesses in 2004. MicroCal remains a very successful part of Malvern Panalytic.

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