Diluter

DR. ARVYDAS JUOZAITIS, A MEMORIAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Arvydas Juozaitis designed the prototype of the Vilnius Aerosol Generator (VAG) in 1995. This new dry powder aerosol disperser originated from his work in Vilnius, Lithuania and in Cincinnati, Ohio. It represents a novel approach to dry powder aerosol generation. With the help of his colleagues, Dr. Saulius Trakumas and Dr. Vidmantas Ulevicius, Dr. Arvydas Juozaitis created this unique aerosol generator for use in pharmaceutical and toxicological research. This effort was partially funded by Astra Zeneca in Sweden and by Eli Lily in the USA.

Unfortunately, Dr. Juozaitis died in in Lithuania in the early summer of 1999 at the age of 39. This was a result of a head-on collision with a drunken driver.

Arvydas Juozaitis was a creative scientist. He was a gentle and a kind human being who is fondly remembered by those who knew him. He became expert in aerosol science through his work at the Lithuanian Institute of Physics in Vilnius, Lithuania. At that institution, he and his colleagues developed and manufactured aerosol instruments for Soviet institutes and government agencies while Lithuania was under Soviet rule.

In February 1991, still during the Soviet regime, Dr. Klaus Willeke asked him to join his aerosol research group at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA. After working at the University of Cincinnati for 2 years, in the Fall of 1993, Arvydas Juozaitis returned to Lithuania which, in the interim, had regained its independence. Based on work that he performed in Vilnius and in Cincinnati, he received his Ph.D. in 1993. He was one of the first scientists to receive the Ph.D. degree in the newly independent Lithuania. Professor Doctor Klaus Willeke participated in this memorable event as a member of the dissertation committee.

Held in high esteem by his colleagues, Dr. Juozaitis was elected to head the Environmental Physics and Chemistry Division of the Lithuanian Institute of Physics. He became a prominent and respected scientist who participated in many international meetings. He was appointed and elected to be a member of many international science committees.

The fatal car accident occurred on the Baltic Sea coast while he was on a field study project that was conducted jointly by him and Dr. Willeke. It was sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Two collaborators from the Lithuanian Institute of Botany survived the crash, although with injuries. Dr. Juozaitis died a few days after the accident. He is survived by his wife Audrone and two young daughters, Agne and Laura.

The Vilnius Aerosol Generator is a testimony to his productive, but tragically short life.

This memorial note was prepared by Professor Doctor Klaus Willeke; the photo was taken by the editor. A memorial gift to Dr. JuozaitIs family may be made through either Dr. Willeke or Dr. Jaeger.