John Bourke is a Rochester Section member from one of the outlying counties in the Section. His whole career was as Professor of Chemistry at the Cornell Experiment Station in Geneva, rising through the ranks with the years.He spent his high school years in Albany where his father was a physician associated with the NY State Health Dept. John’s high school career began at Albany Academy but was permanently interrupted by a long bout with polio. Although he didn’t actually get a high school diploma, he was accepted into Colgate University, where he graduated in 1957. He went on to Oregon State University, where he received an M.S. and Ph.D. the latter in 1963 He then embarked on a two year Post Doc at Cornell, where he surmised it might be a good place to get a job. It turned out that way and led to his career in Geneva.
The Experiment station is part of the New York State land grant college of agriculture at Cornell. It is unusual in academia in that there are no undergraduates. But there are always many graduate students from many different disciplines and from all over the world. John ran the analytical laboratory, employing about 40 people, all of whom are supported by grants, the writing of which was one of his principal occupations. He was teacher, researcher, and eventually administrator. He taught chemistry to all manner of botanists, entomologists, environmentalists, and the like, some of whom from foreign countries were also guests in his home. In his last few years he was director of a new program in viticulture and enology. John retired officially in 1990, but continued part time, assisting with grant applications until 2000.
John liked to hike and hunt, often with a colleague from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Dr. Carl Aten. This activity evolved into a study of acid rain in NY.
John and his wife Virginia live on a 140-acre farm between Newark and Phelps. They have three children, whom, he says, he kept busy in their teen years on the farm. John, Michael and Kathleen all went on to graduate degrees in chemical engineering, molecular genetics, and horticulture, respectively. There are four grandchildren. John and Virginia are now only residents on the farm, the land being rented out. Although in recent years John has been increasingly weakened muscularly by the post polio syndrome, he and Virginia keep busy with hobbies (philately being one), sailing, church, volunteer work and keeping up the homestead.
