Obituary: Professor Patrick Fanahan (P. F.) Fox (1937–2024)

Abstract

Saturday, 13 July 2024, brought the sad news of the death of Professor Patrick Fanahan (P. F.) Fox, Professor Emeritus of Food Chemistry at University College Cork who had died on the previous day. Though he nominally retired in December 1997, he remained active in recent years, and his last book is with the publisher Oxford University Press. He was respected internationally as perhaps the leading dairy chemist of his generation and widely regarded as one of Ireland's most distinguished scientists of the 20th century.

Patrick Fox was born on 20 November 1937 and reared on a dairy farm near Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, the eldest of eight children. He was educated in the local national school, and later at secondary school in nearby Mitchelstown, where he was top of his class for his 5 years there. Though he probably would have taken up farming, he was encouraged by both his mother and his grandmother to go on to third-level education. Thus, he registered for the 4-year BSc (Dairying) degree course at University College Cork in October 1955. He qualified in the summer of 1959, with 1^st Class Honours.

He was interested in doing postgraduate studies in Microbiology and spoke to Professor Michael Grimes about this. However, Professor Grimes was about to retire and was not taking on any postgraduate students at the time, but suggested that he should speak to Professor Frank Kosikowski, Head of the Dairy and Food Faculty of Cornell University, who was a Fulbright Fellow in UCC in 1958–1959.

Professor Kosikowski arranged that he commence a PhD programme in Cornell University, Ithaca, in upstate New York in August 1959, majoring in Dairy Science, with minors in Biochemistry and Microbiology. Along the way, his focus and interest shifted from Microbiology to Chemistry. In 1964, it was felt that he had sufficient work done to start writing up his PhD thesis. When he presented his first draft to Kosikowski, the latter was far from impressed. He was told ‘You come from a country that has produced many famous writers, now go and emulate them’. This left a lasting impression and from then on Professor Fox aimed to do so, and with some success. He also passed on this advice to his own postgraduate students thereafter. Having completed his PhD in May 1964, he subsequently undertook postdoctoral research, under Dr Hans Lillevik, in Michigan State University, East Lansing (1964–1965), followed by further research with Dr Nick Tarassuk, in UC Davis (1965–1966). However, in January 1967 he decided to return to Ireland and joined the Dairy Technology Department of An Foras Talúntais (The Agricultural Institute), in Moorepark, Fermoy.

In 1969, Professor Gerald T. Pyne retired. He had served as lecturer and later professor of Dairy Chemistry from the foundation of the Dairy Science Faculty at University College Cork in 1924. There were six applicants for the position, which was now changed to professor of Dairy and Food Chemistry. Professor Fox was successful and was appointed to and took up the position on 1 October 1969, at the age of 32. He was one of the youngest professors appointed by UCC. He inherited a department that had a laboratory with limited space, poorly equipped, with two lecturers: one was Dr Patrick A. Morrisey, also appointed at the same time and who had recently completed his PhD on the chymosin-induced coagulation of milk, under Professor Pyne, and the other was Mr. Declan T. McSweeney, who also served as supervisor of Examinations for the University, and two laboratory technicians Mr. Pat Buckley and Mr. John Lyons, but with no current postgraduate students in the department.

As lectures for the 1969–1970 academic year commenced just days after his appointment, his primary task, together with Dr Morrissey, was to keep ahead of the lectures and practicals, which now also included lectures on the structure and biochemistry of muscle and meat. I should add that, as a member of the first undergraduate class to take the full Dairy and Food Chemistry in our third and fourth year courses, we were just aware that in Professor Fox, we had an exceptional lecturer, who was to become a leading scientist in the world of dairy and food chemistry at international level and also as a great support to the Irish dairy industry as it developed into a major player in dairy product exports around the world.

As a lecturer and researcher, he insisted upon on exceptionally high academic standards from his students, whether at graduate or postgraduate level, yet he was readily approachable and spoke quietly, but authoritatively. During his long career, he supervised the research of 35 PhD students (some jointly with colleagues), and about 15 Postdoctoral fellows, many of whom continued their careers in leading universities and research centres around the world. He regarded these as his academic progeny, who continue and enlarge upon his teaching and research work. He also supervised approximately 65 MSc theses, most of which were published.

He had an extensive publication record, approx. 350 research papers, and 170 written reviews, co-authored two textbooks and edited or co-edited 30 books, some of which are in their third edition. In 1993, he was awarded the Doctor of Science (DSc) by the National University of Ireland (NUI) for his published work.

He also wrote the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University College Cork: A History, covering not just since its foundation in 1924, but also included details on its antecedents during the period 1880 to 1924. This book was published in 2016, but he had researched it over the previous 10 years, and it was written with the same academic rigour and detail as he applied to all his other published work. It was based on a lecture he had given at the 34^th Annual Food Science & Technology Conference in UCC on 16 September 2004, which marked the 80^th Anniversary of the Faculty. Indeed, that conference was one of the innovations which Professor Fox started in 1970, where postgraduate researchers presented their work to their lecturers, their peers and delegates from the dairy industry in Ireland and beyond.

Professor Fox is survived by his wife Olive, and they married in September 1965. His family include his daughters Kathy and Deirdre, his son Patrick Denis, his three grandchildren, his five sisters Sr. Marie, Eileen, Sr. Claire, Thérèse, Noreen and his brother Thomas. His brother Morgan predeceased him. We extend our deepest sympathies to all of them, as they shall miss him most. However, he shall be fondly remembered by those of us, his many students, his many friends, the Irish and indeed the worldwide dairy industry. His published research work and books shall continue to be a lasting memorial to him for many years to come. May he rest in peace.