Name: John L. Howland Date: December 14th, 1935 - October 18th, 2009 Obituary: John L. Howland, PhD, age 73 of Harpswell, died Sunday, October 18, 2009 at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick. He was born in Quincy, Mass on December 14, 1935, the son of Graton G. and Mary H. LaFollette Howland, and graduated from North Quincy High School. John graduated cum laude from Bowdoin in l957 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He studied at Yale University Medical School in 1957-58, and then at Harvard, where he received his Ph.D. in 1961. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands for the next two years and moved to Brunswick in 1963. John joined the Bowdoin faculty in 1963 as assistant professor of biology. He was promoted to associate professor in 1967, and became professor in 1977. John was active in the College's Senior Center program. The program, which began in 1964 and continued for fifteen years, offered a series of special seminars to seniors. John served as faculty representative to Bowdoin's Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers. In 1964 he appeared on the Jerry Lewis Telethon to explain his research in the fight against muscular dystrophy. John was a member of the Biochemical Society of Great Britain. By 1971, John had elevated biochemistry to a separate department, and it is now one of the most popular majors at the College. He was named to the Josiah Little professorship in 1977, and was chair of the department of biology during several periods. He retired in 2002. John was best known for his research into causes of muscular dystrophy and the cell biochemistry of genetic disorders. His research into the causes of muscular dystrophy led to a new theory, envisioning it as a genetic defect in membrane configuration in a number of tissues other than muscle. In 1974 the weekly scientific publication "Current Science" hailed John's research as opening a "brand-new front" against the disease. He was the author of three textbooks, "Introduction to Cell Physiology," "Cell Physiology," and "Environmental Physiology," and co-author of a fourth, "A Mathematical Approach to Biology." He also wrote the first book on the Archaea in 2000, "The Surprising Archaea: Discovering a New Domain of Life." He published many scholarly articles in professional journals, and his research was widely reported on both sides of the Atlantic. He was the recipient of numerous grants for his research from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Public Health Service, the American Heart Association, and other foundations and funding agencies. He was also awarded a U.S. Public Health Service Research Career Development Award. John was a member of the Merrymeeting Audubon Society, and enjoyed gardening, fishing and birding. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Cynthia (Birge) Howland of Harpswell; his son, Ethan Howland and his wife, Daphne of Portland; his daughter, Hannah Judson and her husband, Bruce of Chartrettes, France; a sister, Jane Howland of Marthasville, MO; and five grandchildren, Esme Howland, Phoebe Howland and Elspeth Howland, all of Portland, and Turner “Jupiter” Judson, and Gemma Judson, both of France. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to Emmaus Homes, Marthasville Campus, 11900 Emmaus Drive, Marthasville, MO 63357. Services: 12:00PM at Bowdoin College Chapel on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 (map/driving directions)