Photo from Purdue University
A Nobel winning chemist who spent most of his career at Purdue University was found confused and wandering after authorities discovered the body of his wife,Sumire Negishi, in their vehicle, reports the Washington Post.
Foul play is not suspected.
Ei-ichi Negishi, 82, won the Nobel for his groundbreaking discovery of Negishi coupling, which combines organic halides with organozinc compounds to form carbon carbon bounds.
His wife Sumire, 80, had lived with Parkinson’s Disease.
CNN reports the couple had been reported missing by family Monday night.
They released the following statement to WTHR
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved wife and mother, Sumire Negishi, who was near the end of her battle with Parkinson’s. She was traveling with her lifelong partner and husband, Eiichi Negishi, who was apparently suffering from an acute state of confusion and shock.
“They were found near the Rockford International Airport, off a perimeter road around a landfill. The car was stuck in a ditch and determined to be non-functioning and he appeared to be searching for help.”
Ei-ichi Negishi has spent 30 years at Purdue University where his wife was well known.
“Throughout a lifetime of love and loyalty, she supported her husband in a career of tremendous contributions to science and to the teaching and training of subsequent generations of top scientists,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a statement to CNN.
“It appears that the Parkinson’s disease from which she has been suffering and the mental confusion that age can bring to the most brilliant minds combined to produce the recent tragic events. That these phenomena are so common does not make their consequences any less cruel.”
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