Gilbert “Gil” F. Whittemore, 67, passed away on August 27, 2017, in Perkinsville, Vermont. For many years Gil was a valued member of the SciTech family, and he will be deeply missed. He was a beloved friend, mentor, and colleague to so many in the Section, as demonstrated by the voluminous outpouring of condolences and memories by his Section peers.
January 01, 2018
Gilbert “Gil” F. Whittemore, 1950–2017
Compiled by Larry W. Thorpe
Gil worked at the law firm of Stalter & Kennedy, which merged with Rath, Young & Pignatelli, PC, until his retirement in 2016, where he enjoyed a wide variety of legal work, including bankruptcy, contracts, corporate law, health law, real estate, taxation, tort, and trademarks. In 1994, at the request of President Clinton, he served as a senior staff member on the White House Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.
Gil was attracted to the worlds of science and law since a young age, even building his own telescope! His interest in the intersection of scientific, legal, and political issues led him to pursue an undergraduate degree at Harvard University in history of science, graduating summa cum laude in 1972. He then pursued his law degree, focusing on broad legal issues involving science, and graduating from Harvard Law School cum laude in 1975. While in law school, Gil began teaching in the history of science department at Harvard. Over the next decade, he completed a master’s degree and PhD in history of science, also at Harvard University; his doctoral dissertation was on the development of standards for radiation protection. Gil was not only a lifelong student, he was also a teacher and mentor and over the years taught at St. Paul’s Choir School, Harvard University, Harvard Law School, MIT, and Lesley College.
Gil joined the ABA Section of Science & Technology Law in 1996 as a member of the Committee on Regulating Research, focusing on scientific misconduct, and he remained an active leader and participant in the Section until his passing. He served many important roles in SciTech over the years, including Section Chair (2007–2008), contributing editor and member of the editorial board of The SciTech Lawyer, member of the National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists, Book Board member, and member of the professional editorial board for the Jurimetrics law journal. Gil founded and cofounded several important SciTech committees, including Museums and the Arts Law, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games (later called Video Game Law). Gil organized several programs for the Section on law and advances in genetics at the time when the human genome was being decoded—first a program at the ABA meeting in London in 2000, and later a two-day conference in North Carolina. As Section Chair, Gil helped the Section cultivate relationships with scientists and engineers, and strengthen its international presence in recognition of the innate international nature of science and technology.
In addition to his service to the American Bar Association, Gil also served as board trustee of the American Precision Museum, and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum Committee, where he was instrumental in the achievement of the museum’s AAM accreditation. Gil served as a staff attorney for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
In each of his roles, Gil gave his time, commitment, and intellect generously. He was someone who you could always rely on to get the job done, and his presence is already sorely missed by his friends, colleagues, students, and mentees.
Gil enjoyed gardening, and those who remember his Chair columns in The SciTech Lawyer (2008) may recall that he spoke often of “planting seeds,” including vegetables that would mature by the fall and trees that may not mature until the next century. Gil approached SciTech the same way—he nurtured many new committees, and his efforts will bear fruit for many years to come. u