Erach Talaty, Ph. D, died June 13, 2013. He was a Wichita State chemistry professor for over forty years. Students say they’ll remember him for his warmth and enthusiasm.

“He was very vibrant and definitely loved what he did,” said Sarah Campbell, a former student. Talaty was honored several times throughout his teaching career.

He received WSU’s Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching Award, and was named as the 1999 Kansas Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.

Chemistry students also know Talaty for a loud and sometimes rambling teaching style. He insisted on using an old-fashioned projector, so he could write directly on the laminates.

“He added to the room,” said Chris Discipio, a chemistry major. “You were just happy when he walked in.”

Talaty gave students his own handwritten notes to explain problems, and used brainteasers to stimulate students. And although he liked to ramble, students remember Talaty for his enthusiasm in the classroom.

Talaty’s professional history is paved with what can be fairly calledimpressive landmarks.

Though he tended to leave his personal life at home, Talaty brought his professional history to the classroom as an inspiration to students.

“I think he deserved some bragging rights,” Campbell said. “I think professors of that caliber are hard to come by.”

At Harvard University, he had a post-doctoral fellowship with Robert Woodward, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Glen Russell at Iowa State University

Talaty conducted research throughout his career. Between 1951 and 2011, he contributed to nearly 100 scientific publications.

Born in 1926 in India, he received his BS through Ph.D. at Nagpur University, He moved to the United States, and later received a second PhD from Ohio State in 1957.

Campbell said that in the organic chemistry course she took, roughly half of the class was taking it for the second time because they hadn’t passed. She said the class was challenging due to the subject matter, and that Talaty didn’t let students slack.

“I’m just grateful I got to take his class a second time,” she said. “It made me really appreciate him as a person, and not as just one more tough teacher.”

Before he came to WSU, Talaty held faculty positions at Louisiana State University and the University of South Dakota at Vermillion.

He helped the WSU Chemistry Department transition to focusing on research as well as on teaching. Talaty served as faculty chair of the department for one term.

“He was very vibrant and definitely loved what he did,” Campbell said. “He was so full of life.”

Memorials have been established in Talaty’s name through the chemistry department. A memorial was held June 1 at The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Talaty was predeceased by his wife, Margaret. He is survived by his sister Ketayum Gould of Virginia, and two stepdaughters, Judith E. Greene and Erica Rafat of Hawaii.