Obituary of Dale E. Wurster

Dale E. Wurster, 88, of 16 Brickwood Knoll RR6, Iowa City died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. He will be deeply missed by many family, friends, and colleagues. A Memorial Celebration of his life will be held at 1:30 PM, Saturday, May 26, in the Ritchey Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union. A reception will follow the service at the same location. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Dale and June Wurster Pharmaceutics Research Fund at The University of Iowa Foundation, or to the charity of one’s choice, will be sincerely appreciated. Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is assisting the Wurster family. Dale Erwin Wurster was born April 10, 1918, in Sparta, Wisconsin the son of Edward and Emma (Steingraber) Wurster. Dale earned the Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy in 1942 from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he earned the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Physical Pharmacy, with minors in Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry, in 1947. His faculty career at UW - Madison started immediately thereafter, and he rapidly rose to the rank of Professor. Dale left UW – Madison in 1971 to become Dean of the College of Pharmacy at North Dakota State University. In 1972, he joined the University of Iowa as Dean of its College of Pharmacy. He held that position until1983, and retired from his professorial position in the UI College of Pharmacy in 1986. As Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus, he undertook special projects for the UI, and he continued to serve on national review panels until the age of 80. Dale received international recognition for his work in the areas of dissolution kinetics, percutaneous absorption, and air suspension technology. His research in dermal transport led to the use of scientific principles in the formulation of topical dosage forms, while his research in dissolution kinetics was instrumental to the understanding of solid dosage form performance several years prior to the establishment of the discipline of Biopharmaceutics. Of his many contributions to the field of Pharmaceutics, he is most cited for his discovery and development of the Wurster Air-Suspension Coating Technique, a process of tablet and particle coating and of microencapsulation that is used worldwide for the manufacture of medications. In addition to its applicability to the development and production of pharmaceuticals, it has been utilized for such diverse applications as agriculture, food science, and rocket propellants. Dale greatly enjoyed travel, and saw much of Europe, Asia, and Australia, often accompanied by his wife, June. Dale and June loved to drive, and saw 47 of the lower 48 states through the windshields of various cars. Dale and June were also avid boaters, and especially enjoyed using their powerboats on the upper Mississippi. Wurster discovered the joys of high quality audio reproduction early in that medium’s development, a fact supported by the observation that he built his first FM tuner, preamplifier, amplifier, and speakers from kits. His family includes a son, Dale Eric Wurster his wife, Pamela of North Liberty, daughter, Susan W. Biel of St. Gabriel, Louisiana, three grandchildren, Elizabeth Dobesh and her husband Brett, Kristin Wurster, Dale Edward Wurster, and a number of nieces and nephews. Dale was preceded in death by his parents, brother Delbert Wurster, three sisters Dolores Larsen, Dolly Hemming, and Dorthea Bird.