Leonard Aaron Cole (September 1, 1933September 18, 2022), was an American

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

and expert on

bioterrorism Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same ...

and terror medicine. He was

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

of political science at Rutgers University-Newark, New Jersey and of

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (often called “ER doctors” in the United States) continuously learn to care for unsche ...

at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. A pioneer in developing the field of terror medicine, he was founding director of the Program on Terror Medicine and Security at the medical school.

Early life

Cole was born Leonard Aaron Cohen in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. His father, Morris Cohen, was the owner of several

deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pro ...

s in New York City and in New Jersey; his mother, Rebecca (née Harelick), was a housewife. Cole attended high school in his hometown and changed his surname during his youth due to fears of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. He initially studied 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 ...

, before transferring to the School of Dental Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. After graduating in 1957, he enlisted in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and was posted to Japan for two years. Upon his return from military service, Cole was employed at a dental office in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, and obtained a undergraduate degree in political science from UCB. He then returned to northern Jersey and established his own family dental practice in 1961. He later undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

in political science and was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1970.

Career

Trained in both the health sciences as well as public policy, Cole testified before

United States congressional committee A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...

s and was invited to give presentations to the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

, U.S. Department of Energy, the

Office of Technology Assessment The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was an office of the United States Congress that operated from 1974 to 1995. OTA's purpose was to provide congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scien ...

, and the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

. A member of the WMD Working Group of the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

's Homeland Security Group, Cole co-authored and edited the working group's 2012 report on WMD Terrorism. Cole's 2021 book, ''Chasing the Ghost: Nobelist Fred Reines and the Neutrino'', was cited by ''Symmetry'' magazine as among the year's ten notable science-related titles. The book was also a 2022 Indie Book Awards finalist in the Autobiography/Biography category. Cole was national chairman of the

Jewish Council for Public Affairs The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an American Jewish 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table organization of 15 other national Jewish organizations, including the Re ...

from 2000 to 2002. He was a featured commentator in ''Avoiding Armageddon'' (2003), a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

documentary on

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

and

chemical warfare Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...

. His book ''The Anthrax Letters: A Medical Detective Story'' was named an Honor Book by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Cole served on the board of directors of the

World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine The World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) is an international organization concerned with disaster medicine. Originally named the Club of Mainz, it was founded on October 2, 1976. It has hosted the World Congress on Disaste ...

, and on the advisory board of the

International Institute for Counter-Terrorism The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) is a conservative Israeli think tank founded in 1996 and located at Reichman University, in Herzliya, Israel. Activities According to ''Foreign Affairs'', ICT presents a conservative Israeli ...

. Appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to the New Jersey-Israel Commission, he chaired the Commission's committee on Homeland Security. In addition, he coordinated exchanges on terror medicine and domestic security between American and Israeli academics and professionals. Cole appeared on television, and was the author or editor of eleven books. His articles appeared in several academic journals and publications, including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

The Sciences ''The Sciences'' was a magazine published from 1961 to 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences. Each issue contained articles that discussed science issues with cultural relevance, illustrated with fine art and an occasional cartoon. The period ...

'', and ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

''. Other interviews and presentations of his were posted by the ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virg ...

''.

Personal life

Cole married Ruth Gerber in 1957. They had three children and remained married until his death. They resided in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958, Cole died on September 18, 2022, at a hospital in Ridgewood. He was 89 years old.

Awards and accolades

Cole was awarded grants and fellowships by the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, the

Andrew Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

, and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. He received the alumni merit award from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (often referred to as Penn Dental Medicine or simply Penn Dental) is the dental school of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an Ivy League university located in Philadelphia. It is one ...

in 2008. He was a fellow of the

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

and board member of the

Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or TWI, also known simply as The Washington Institute) is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. WINE ...

. Formerly a board member of

's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Alumni Association, he was featured in the GSAS publication, ''Superscript''.

Bibliography

* ''Blacks in Power: A Comparative Study of Black and White Elected Officials'' (1976) * ''Politics and the Restraint of Science'' (1983) * ''Clouds of Secrecy: The Army's Germ Warfare Tests Over Populated Areas'' (1988) * ''Element of Risk: The Politics of Radon'' (1993) * ''The Eleventh Plague: The Politics of Biological and Chemical Warfare'' (1997) * ''The Anthrax Letters: A Medical Detective Story'' (2003) * ''Terror: How Israel Has Coped and What America Can Learn'' (2007) * ''The Anthrax Letters, Revised Edition'' (2009) * ''Essentials of Terror Medicine'' (co-editor, 2009) * ''Local Planning for Terror and Disaster: From Bioterrorism to Earthquakes'' (co-editor, 2012) * ''Chasing the Ghost: Nobelist Fred Reines and the Neutrino'' (2021)

References

External links

Leonard A. Cole''Rutgers Today'' ''Superscript''NJTV NewsOne on One
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Leonard A. 1933 births 2022 deaths Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Writers from Paterson, New Jersey American dentists Military personnel from New Jersey University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine alumni Rutgers University faculty