I was one of the first FDAers to be assigned to work on the Executive Operations Staff for Drs. Shank and Archer. One of my most vivid memories was helping Doug carry an armload of chemistry books to his car so that he could study up on L-tryptophan. He kept muttering that he was a microbiologist and was chosen as deputy to balance Dr. Shank's knowledge of nutrition. L-tryptophan wasn't any microbe!
Sure enough, the next critical item on Doug's plate - sulfites on fresh vegetables on salad bars. Again, not much microbiology involved. Soon enough we'd be dealing with E. coli O157:H7 - right up Doug's alley.
But, as always, he smiled and got us through all those difficult days.
Tom Schwarz