Dr. Randy L. Rose of Clayton, assistant professor of toxicology at N.C. State University, died May 23 as a result of an automobile accident. He was 52. Rose was a faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where he was an internationally renowned toxicology researcher. His research focus was the characterization of the molecular basis of pesticide metabolism and resultant interaction in mammals and insects.

A native of Utah, Rose earned his 1979 bachelor's and 1981 master's degrees in biology from Utah State University and his 1988 Ph.D. in entomology from Louisiana State University. He had served at N.C. State since arriving as a postdoctoral fellow in 1988, and he helped to found the Department of Toxicology, now called the Department of Molecular and Environmental Toxicology.

In June, the Agromedicine Research Forum, where Rose was to have been a presenter, was dedicated to his memory. Dr. Ernest Hodgson, an N.C. State colleague, delivered Rose's presentation at the event, sponsored by the N.C. Agromedicine Institute and the Southern Coastal Agromedicine Center and held at the Pitt County Center for Cooperative Extension.

Additionally, members of the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology are developing plans for a memorial to Rose in the Toxicology Building and for a toxicology research symposium dedicated to his memory to be held later this year.

-Terri Leith