Lloyd Yoder
Sunday, 7/25/2004, 8:54 p.m. |
Jonas Salk
I graduated (BSME) in 52. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Jonas Salk discover the vaccine that cured infantile paralysis, a dreaded disease that ruined the active lives of many young people including President Franklin Roosevelt, while at Pitt in the early 50s. I seem to remember his lab was just down the street from the then engineering hall. I've often wondered why this accomplishment hasn't been commemorated by a statue or plaque of some kind and why it is never mentioned with our 50s nostalgia renderings? I remember a number of kids of my age group that were crippled with this terrible plague, some who died from it. I know he established the Salk Clinic elsewhere but shouldn't Pitt be getting some 50s credit for providing the environment for the discovery?
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