IU chemistry professor Dennis Peters died Monday from complications of COVID-19, according to the chemistry graduate program’s Facebook page.
IU spokesperson Chuck Carney confirmed Peters' death.
Peters contracted the virus while in the hospital recovering from a fall he took over spring break, according to the graduate program's Facebook page. He was 82.
The chemistry graduate program posted on Facebook and Twitter about Peters' importance to the department and how appreciated he was. Many people left comments saying how much they will miss him.
“His passion for his students was contagious,” one of Peters' former teaching assistants, Jonathan Meyers, wrote in a Facebook comment.
Peters was born in Los Angeles, according to his research group website. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the California Institute of Technology in 1958. He began working as an instructor for IU in 1962 after receiving his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Harvard University.
He has filled various roles in IU’s chemistry department, including associate chair, graduate advisor, director of General Chemistry, coordinator of Undergraduate Studies and adviser for graduate students in the Master of Arts for Teachers Program. He has won 11 IU teaching awards and is co-author of five textbooks on analytical chemistry.
In 2006, Peters was recognized for 50 years of membership to the American Chemical Society. In 2007, he was elected as a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the day Peters died. The IDS regrets this error.
