In memoriam: Charles Kulpa, professor emeritus of biological sciences
Charles “Chuck” Frank Kulpa Jr., professor emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences, died April 30 in South Bend. He was 80.
Kulpa was a respected scholar and professor of environmental and applied microbiology for 40 years. He studied the metabolism of microbes, including bacteria, and investigated topics including their ability to degrade toxic pollutants in the environment.
“Chuck used a novel combination of molecular, biochemical and cellular approaches to determine how microbes detoxified these pollutants, and he was among the first microbiologists to embrace the new field of ‘biotechnology’ that is now so fundamental to science,” said Professor Gary Lamberti, whose office was next to Kulpa’s in Galvin Life Science Center.
A triple graduate of the University of Michigan (with bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees) and avid Wolverine football fan, Kulpa began working as a professor at the University of Notre Dame in 1972 and retired in 2012.
“He was an experimentalist. He enjoyed talking about the details of all sorts of lab procedures and was curious about everything in the science news and enjoyed discussing current topics with colleagues,” said Professor Joseph O’Tousa. “This was key to how he approached his course and lab teaching assignments.
“Yet he would also want to talk to me about family news and other things going on outside of work. His friendship provided an important perspective for me in balancing these life activities. I imagine his students benefited from this as well.”
Intellectually curious, Kulpa frequently took advantage of novel opportunities. For instance, when Kulpa studied how to remediate polluted areas by “seeding” them with microbes, he speculated that he would not find suitable microbes in the Midwest because much of the soil has been polluted by industry.
When Lamberti mentioned that he was traveling to Alaska for some research, Kulpa had an idea.
“One day he asked me, ‘Gary, can you bring me some dirt from Alaska?’” Lamberti said. “He explained that he needed the dirt to search for bacteria that he can culture because Alaska has low pollution.
“Dutifully, I brought him back vials of soil from remote areas of Alaska, and he was thrilled to find some new microbes to test in his lab.”
At the same time, Kulpa was down to earth and, when he was department chair, he allowed students to throw pies in his face for a fundraiser, Lamberti shared. “I think Chuck enjoyed it more than the students.”
According to Kulpa’s obituary, he was an avid golfer and played on the green of St. Andrew’s in Scotland, an experience that held deep meaning for him. He also enjoyed traveling and sharing his travel stories with all who would listen. Kulpa is survived by his wife, four children, 18 grandchildren, a great-grandchild, a brother and a sister.
“He cherished his family,” O’Tousa said. “ He was beaming whenever he talked of the many times he and Loretta and their farm would be the destination spot for a summer week with their grandkids or their treks to the east coast to visit their grandchildren.”
Visitation will be from 12 to 2 p.m. Saturday (May 11) at Brown Funeral Home, 521 E. Main Street, Niles.
Latest Faculty & Staff
- In memoriam: Alasdair MacIntyre, the Rev. John A. O’Brien senior research professor of philosophy emeritusAlasdair MacIntyre, the Rev. John A. O’Brien senior research professor of philosophy emeritus and a permanent senior distinguished research fellow at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, died on May 21, 2025. He was 96.
- Santiago Schnell, dean of Notre Dame’s College of Science, appointed as provost of DartmouthSantiago Schnell, the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has accepted an appointment as provost at Dartmouth College. He will depart Notre Dame at the end of June and begin his new role in July.
- Notre Dame’s Fightin’ Irish Battalion receives Department of Defense award as nation’s top Army ROTC programThe United States Department of Defense honored the University of Notre Dame’s Army ROTC Fightin’ Irish Battalion as the nation’s top Army collegiate program for the 2023-24 academic year. This will be the first time the unit has received the department’s Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award, which recognizes the program’s achievements in recruiting, educating, training and commissioning leaders of character to be the next generation of military officers.
- In memoriam: Karl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy EmeritusKarl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, died on April 28 from pancreatic cancer. He was 77. Born in post-World War II Germany, Ameriks’ family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Yale University. He came to the Department of Philosophy at Notre Dame in 1973 during a formative time for the department, which had transitioned from a predominantly Thomist focus to the more analytical American philosophy in the 1960s.
- Notre Dame psychologist explores how children best learn math — and yes, timed practice helpsUniversity of Notre Dame professor of psychology Nicole McNeil recently co-authored a report that examines the best way for children to learn arithmetic — whether that’s by memorizing number values and multiplication tables, or by studying math at a deeper, conceptual level. The report, “What the Science of Learning Teaches Us About Arithmetic Fluency,” was published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest and shows that children learn most effectively when instruction follows an evidence‑based cycle: grounding facts in conceptual understanding, using brief timed practice to make those facts automatic, and then returning to discussion and reflection to deepen that knowledge.
- ’Tis the season for ticks and mosquitoes. A medical entomologist talks about these pests and how to avoid them.Notre Dame expert Lee Haines explains the risks mosquitoes and ticks pose to the Midwest and discusses how the public can best protect themselves and family members (including pets) from these bloodthirsty pests.
