News Release

In memoriam: Milagros Simmons, associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences.

May 13, 2004 press release from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Milagros S. Simmons, MS, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, passed away on May 11, 2004. She was 64.

Dr. Simmons was a respected teacher and researcher in environmental chemistry who spent three decades at the University of Michigan. She was instrumental in the development and sustenance of excellence in teaching and research in environmental chemistry and health in the department. Her work on the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes strongly influenced the direction of research on these bodies of water.

Professor Simmons received her baccalaureate in chemistry at the University of Santo Tomas (Manila) in the Philippines in 1959, and her MS in analytical chemistry at Wayne State University (Detroit) in 1962. In 1966 she received her PhD in organic analytical chemistry, also from Wayne State University.

After an early career in industry in the Philippines, she worked as an assistant professor in the department of chemistry at Mercy College (Detroit) from 1962 to 1966. She then went back to industry, where she worked as a senior scientist in the Scientific Research Laboratory at Ford Motor Company from 1966 to 1968. She first came to the University of Michigan as a postdoctoral fellow in biophysics, where she worked from 1969 to 1971. From 1971 to 1981 she worked as an assistant research scientist in the Center for Great Lakes and Aquatic Sciences in Ann Arbor, becoming associate research scientist in 1987. In 1975 she joined the faculty of the (now) Department of Environmental Health Sciences as assistant professor of environmental chemistry, rising to the rank of associate professor in 1980.

During her long research career, Dr. Simmons conducted research on a wide range of aspects of water chemistry, in particular the detection and characterization of pollutant chemicals in both lake water and sediments. Chemicals of interest included a wide range of organic compounds considered to be of great environmental health importance because of their potential to undergo bio-magnification in ecological systems, in particular the food chain. Dr. Simmons authored about 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and a very large number of non-peer-reviewed papers, including conference proceedings, book chapters, and reports. The research she started in water science in the Philippines was just one example of her many legendary contributions.

Dr. Simmons was a highly respected teacher of environmental chemistry. In addition to her classroom contributions, she chaired or co-chaired the dissertation committees of twelve doctoral students. During her career, she received many awards and recognitions, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society Fellowship, the Macromolecular Research Center Fellowship, the Fogarty International Fellowship, the Rotary International Fellowship and Membership of the Philippines Scientist Program.

A memorial service was held on Monday, May 17, 2004 in Ann Arbor. Memorial donations may be made to Arthritis Foundation Michigan Chapter, 17117 West 9 Mile Road Suite 950, Southfield, MI 48075 or to the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202.

Contact: Terri Mellow
Phone: (734) 764-8094
E-mail: twm@umich.edu