Delbert E. Philpott (September 24, 1923 – December 11, 2005) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soldier and scientist.http://fiskeworld.org/untitled2.html Born in Omro,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Philpott served in the Fighting 69th Infantry Division in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was one of three Americans in the iconic link-up photo by Allan Jackson of American troops shaking hands with Russian soldiers at the Elbe River in April 1945. Philpott was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart Medals for his service. After the war, Philpott completed his bachelor's degree in Chemistry at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 1948 and a master's degree in 1949. At the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago he established the first electron microscope facility, before moving to the Marine Biological Lab and Institute for Muscle Research in Woods Hole, MA in 1952, where he was Head of Electron Microscopy, directing research projects under Nobel Laureate

Albert Szent-Györgyi Albert Imre Szent-Györgyi de Nagyrápolt ( hu, nagyrápolti Szent-Györgyi Albert Imre; September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986) was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with fi ...

in the winter and for the Marine Biological Lab at Woods Hole during the summer. Philpott was awarded his PhD in cytology in 1963 from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, and moved to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

as Professor of Biochemistry until 1966, when he became Head of the Department of Electron Microscopy and Co-Director of the Institute for Biomedical Research at Mercy Hospital in Denver. He joined

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

as the head of the Ultrastructure Laboratory at the Moffett Field NASA Ames Research Center, inspecting

lunar soil Lunar soil is the fine fraction of the regolith found on the surface of the Moon. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil. The physical properties of lunar soil are primarily the result of mechanical disintegra ...

for any evidence of life. Experiments designed by Philpott were flown on both American and Russian spacecraft, including

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...

, Cosmos 736 and Cosmos 936. Philpott retired from NASA in 1990, but continued working under contract with the

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

Company at NASA Ames. Philpott authored over 230 scientific papers and wrote articles for several books and magazines in his scientific career. Philpott was one of ten veterans chosen as guests at the Russian government's 60th Anniversary Celebration of the end of World War II, seated at the table with President Putin and President Bush. He and his wife, Donna, also co-edited the book "Hands Across The Elbe", stories by American and Russian veterans about the link up in April 1945.

Notes

External links

Allies meet at Elbe photos from Corbis
1923 births 2005 deaths People from Omro, Wisconsin United States Army personnel of World War II Indiana University alumni University of Illinois Chicago people Boston University alumni University of Colorado faculty {{US-scientist-stub