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We recently learned the sad news that Peter Norton, former Director of Coding at Derwent, passed away peacefully during the night of 23rd July after being unwell for some time.
Those that knew Peter professionally will remember him as the father of the Derwent coding systems for which he received acclaim through the Herman Skolnik Award in 2002 for outstanding contributions to the theory and practice of chemical information science, and more recently the IPI Award in 2009 for individual contributions towards the advancement of patent information and related disciplines.
I had the pleasure of knowing Peter during my first stint at Derwent in the 1980’s and numbering him amongst my friends during the subsequent years. I’m glad I had the opportunity to know the man responsible for the immense contribution made to patent searchers worldwide whose exacting work is made a little easier by the precise search capabilities Peter’s systems continue to provide for patent information retrieval to this day. On behalf of all of us at Thomson Reuters, I would like to express my sincere condolences to Peter’s friends and family.
Those that knew Peter personally will remember him as a steadfast reliable friend always willing to share his time and stories in good companionship. To the family he leaves behind, he will be fondly remembered simply as a good and loving father. Our thoughts and sympathies are with them at this sad time.
3 Comments
Hide/Show CommentsAug 19, 2011
Anthony Trippe
Bob,
Thank you for sharing this news with those of us in PIUG who might not have heard about it otherwise. While very sad indeed it is important to reflect on the passing of people within our industry and celebrate the contributions they made.
I did not know Peter personally but thoroughly enjoyed hearing him during the 2009 award ceremony and as a disciple of chemical structure information greatly appreciated the impact he made on the field of chemical structure retrieval. He was indeed a giant in this field and will be remembered and missed.
For those of you who knew him personally and his family, condolences on the loss of a man who brought joy to the people who's life he touched.
Aug 21, 2011
Elliott Linder
I remember fondly a dinner, about 30 years ago, on a terrace overlooking the Thames with Peter, my API colleague Clara Martinez, and Kathy Shenton (anyone know what became of Kathy?). I don't recall having seen Peter between then and 2009 in San Antonio,where we had some time alone along the Riverwalk to share a few pints and a few stories. I am grateful to have had that opportunity.
Aug 31, 2011
Pierre Buffet
Back in the office I read these sad news. Thanks Bob to let us know.
We will always remember the numerous live meetings on MMS with Peter, Kathy, Jez, Tony to mention a few.
This Markush venture started in ... 1984.
Pierre