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History

The roots of the Industrial Hygiene program at the University of Iowa go back to 1938, when Clyde Berry, Lester Cralley (1911-2006), and Lewis Cralley (1911-2005) began a doctoral program under the tutelage of Dr. Ralph Heeren. Dr. Berry completed his PhD in 1941 and Lester and Lewis Cralley graduated in 1942. These three individuals, pioneers in the industrial hygiene profession, were all past presidents of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

The Industrial Hygiene teaching program was reborn with the return of Dr. Berry to Iowa in 1955. Dr. Berry has been widely recognized as a teacher, although the emphasis of the program was on research, and a prominent group of research-oriented industrial hygienists graduated between 1968 and 1982.

Interviews with Dr. Berry

Dr. Berry passed away at age 94 on July 16, 2007, in Hendersonville, NC.

obituary

 Berry story in OEH Alumni Newsletter

Another illustrious IH program graduate is Frederick M. Toca, PhD (1972), CIH, CSP. As the Atlantic Environmental Board states on its website, Dr. Toca is "one of the most recognized individuals in Industrial Hygiene, Safety and Environmental Management in the United States. Dr. Toca has more than 20 years of experience directing and managing programs and acting as the principal technical specialist in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Safety, and Environmental Sciences."

Dr. Toca's career highlights include:

• former Director of Occupational Safety & Health for Hoechst Celanese
• former Director of Industrial Hygiene Safety & Compliance for USX Corporation (U.S. Steel)
• former Manager of Environmental Protection for General Electric Co., Plastics Division.
• director level positions in Tenneco Chemicals and Gulf Oil
• staff member of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
• Past President of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
• co-author of the 1996 book "Management of People and Programs in Industrial Hygiene"
• past Chair of the Chemical Manufacturing Association's Committee on Environment, Health, Safety and Operations Oversight Committee
• author of a variety of research and management publications in Chemistry, Industrial Hygiene, Safety & Management

Alumnus Greg Kullman, PhD 1995, CIH, is a senior research industrial hygienist for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va. He has focused his work on agricultural health and safety and on occupational exposures that lead to lung disease. He was publicly recognized for his contributions to the emergency response efforts following 9/11 and the anthrax attacks of 2001. Recent work is on respiratory disease in popcorn factories:

Kullman G, Boylstein R, Jones W, Piacitelli C, Pendergrass S, Kreiss K.Characterization of respiratory exposures at a microwave popcorn plant with cases of bronchiolitis obliterans. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2005 Mar;2(3):169-78

Recent events:

• 1995, 2001 - Full accreditation of the master of science (MS) program in Industrial Hygiene was received from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)-American Board of IH (ABIH)
  
• 2001-2004 - New IH core faculty -
  • Dr. Wayne T. Sanderson, CIH, joined the University of Iowa faculty on August 26, 2002, and directs the Industrial Hygiene Training Program.
  • Dr. William Heitbrink, CIH joined the University of Iowa faculty on July 30, 2001.
  • Dr. Thomas Peters joined the University of Iowa faculty on July 1, 2004.
  • Dr. William Field joined the University of Iowa faculty on January 1, 2004.