Egon Willighagen
2014-05-14 13:33:16 UTC
Dear Blue Obelisk community,
with great sadness it is that I heard yesterday that Jean-Claude
Bradley passed away yesterday. Please read below more information from
Drexel University below. Jean-Claude received the Blue Obelisk award
in 2007.
I have know Jean-Claude for some years and did some work together with
him on Open Data in chemistry. I was looking forward to working with
him, as member of the SAB of eNanoMapper, on the publisher perspective
of nanosafety research, in his role of Editor-in-Chief of Chemical
Central Journal, with the innovative BioMed Central/Chemistry Central
publisher.
Egon
“Dear Members of the Drexel University Community,
It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the passing of
Jean-Claude Bradley, PhD, associate professor in the Department of
Chemistry.
Jean-Claude joined Drexel as an assistant professor in 1996 after
receiving his PhD in organic chemistry and serving as a postdoctoral
researcher at Duke University and College de France in Paris. In 2004,
he was appointed E-Learning Coordinator for Drexel's College of Arts
and Sciences, helping to spearhead the adoption of novel teaching
modalities. In that role, he led the University's initiative to buy an
"island" in the virtual world of Second Life, where students and
faculty could explore new methods of teaching and learning.
Jean-Claude was most well known for his "Open Notebook Science"(ONS),
a term he coined to describe his novel approach to making all primary
research (including both successful and failed experiments) open to
the public in real time. ONS, he believed—and demonstrated—could
significantly impact the future of science by reducing financial and
computational restraints and by granting public access to the raw data
that shapes scientific conclusions.
"...In the past, trusting people might have been a necessary evil [of
research]," Bradley said. "Today, it is a choice. Optimally, trust
should have no place in science."
In June of 2013, Jean-Claude was invited to the White House for an
"Open Science Poster Session," at which he discussed ONS' role in
allowing he and his collaborators to confidently determine the melting
points of over 27,000 substances, including many that were never
before agreed upon. Currently, his research lab had been working to
create anti-malarial compounds to aid in the synthesis of drugs to
fight malaria. His lab's work on this project was made available to
the public on a wiki called UsefulChem, which Jean-Claude started in
2005.
Jean-Claude's philosophy of free, accessible science translated to an
open approach in the classroom as well. Content from his undergraduate
chemistry courses was made freely available to the public, and real
data from the laboratory was used in assignments to practice concepts
learned in the classroom.
In an article in Chemistry World last April, Bradley said: "It is only
a matter of time before the internet is saturated with free knowledge
for all…People will remember those who were first."
Indeed, we will remember Jean-Claude as a pioneer in the open access
movement, an innovative researcher and colleague, and a kind and
dedicated educator. His death impacts all who knew him, and especially
the students, faculty and collaborators who worked with him daily. For
anyone who may need support in dealing with this loss, we encourage
you to reach out to the counseling professionals at Drexel's
Counseling Center at 215-895-1415 (or 215-416-3337 after regular
business hours).
Our thoughts are with Jean-Claude's family and friends at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Donna M. Murasko, PhD
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences”
with great sadness it is that I heard yesterday that Jean-Claude
Bradley passed away yesterday. Please read below more information from
Drexel University below. Jean-Claude received the Blue Obelisk award
in 2007.
I have know Jean-Claude for some years and did some work together with
him on Open Data in chemistry. I was looking forward to working with
him, as member of the SAB of eNanoMapper, on the publisher perspective
of nanosafety research, in his role of Editor-in-Chief of Chemical
Central Journal, with the innovative BioMed Central/Chemistry Central
publisher.
Egon
“Dear Members of the Drexel University Community,
It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the passing of
Jean-Claude Bradley, PhD, associate professor in the Department of
Chemistry.
Jean-Claude joined Drexel as an assistant professor in 1996 after
receiving his PhD in organic chemistry and serving as a postdoctoral
researcher at Duke University and College de France in Paris. In 2004,
he was appointed E-Learning Coordinator for Drexel's College of Arts
and Sciences, helping to spearhead the adoption of novel teaching
modalities. In that role, he led the University's initiative to buy an
"island" in the virtual world of Second Life, where students and
faculty could explore new methods of teaching and learning.
Jean-Claude was most well known for his "Open Notebook Science"(ONS),
a term he coined to describe his novel approach to making all primary
research (including both successful and failed experiments) open to
the public in real time. ONS, he believed—and demonstrated—could
significantly impact the future of science by reducing financial and
computational restraints and by granting public access to the raw data
that shapes scientific conclusions.
"...In the past, trusting people might have been a necessary evil [of
research]," Bradley said. "Today, it is a choice. Optimally, trust
should have no place in science."
In June of 2013, Jean-Claude was invited to the White House for an
"Open Science Poster Session," at which he discussed ONS' role in
allowing he and his collaborators to confidently determine the melting
points of over 27,000 substances, including many that were never
before agreed upon. Currently, his research lab had been working to
create anti-malarial compounds to aid in the synthesis of drugs to
fight malaria. His lab's work on this project was made available to
the public on a wiki called UsefulChem, which Jean-Claude started in
2005.
Jean-Claude's philosophy of free, accessible science translated to an
open approach in the classroom as well. Content from his undergraduate
chemistry courses was made freely available to the public, and real
data from the laboratory was used in assignments to practice concepts
learned in the classroom.
In an article in Chemistry World last April, Bradley said: "It is only
a matter of time before the internet is saturated with free knowledge
for all…People will remember those who were first."
Indeed, we will remember Jean-Claude as a pioneer in the open access
movement, an innovative researcher and colleague, and a kind and
dedicated educator. His death impacts all who knew him, and especially
the students, faculty and collaborators who worked with him daily. For
anyone who may need support in dealing with this loss, we encourage
you to reach out to the counseling professionals at Drexel's
Counseling Center at 215-895-1415 (or 215-416-3337 after regular
business hours).
Our thoughts are with Jean-Claude's family and friends at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Donna M. Murasko, PhD
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences”
--
E.L. Willighagen
Department of Bioinformatics - BiGCaT
Maastricht University (http://www.bigcat.unimaas.nl/)
Homepage: http://egonw.github.com/
LinkedIn: http://se.linkedin.com/in/egonw
Blog: http://chem-bla-ics.blogspot.com/
PubList: http://www.citeulike.org/user/egonw/tag/papers
ORCID: 0000-0001-7542-0286
E.L. Willighagen
Department of Bioinformatics - BiGCaT
Maastricht University (http://www.bigcat.unimaas.nl/)
Homepage: http://egonw.github.com/
LinkedIn: http://se.linkedin.com/in/egonw
Blog: http://chem-bla-ics.blogspot.com/
PubList: http://www.citeulike.org/user/egonw/tag/papers
ORCID: 0000-0001-7542-0286