Distinguished alumnus never forgot North Central

Naperville's North Central College has lost one of its most notable alumni.

Dr. Joseph Edward "Ed" Rall died Feb. 28 in Rocky Ridge, Md. He was 88.

Born Feb. 3, 1920, in Naperville, Dr. Rall graduated from North Central in 1940 while his father was president of the college.

Dr. Rall went on to receive his medical degree from Northwestern University in 1945 and was a fellow at the Mayo Foundation in Rochester, Minn., from 1948 to 1950. He received his Ph.D. in medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1952.

As a thyroid specialist, Dr. Rall studied victims of radioactive fallout after the atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll in the 1940s and '50s.

The therapies he helped develop were used later to prevent thyroid disease after the incidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear sites.

In 1955, Dr. Rall joined the National Institutes of Health, where he was involved with work that won Nobel Prizes for several of his colleagues.

Dr. Rall was internationally known for his research, earning awards and honors from medical and scientific communities.

But he never forgot his roots in Naperville, and North Central in particular.

"When he would talk about North Central and what it meant to him, it gave me goosebumps," said Rick Spencer, vice president of institutional advancement. "Here's this guy who was a great scientist with a prestigious career. … To listen to him talk about how North Central had an impact on him and got him going in the direction of his career is pretty powerful."

Dr. Rall received an honorary doctorate from North Central, which was paired with a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1966.

"He was somebody we were really proud of as an institution," Spencer said. "He always had this little twinkle in his eye that showed he loved North Central and wanted it to be a better place."

In the late 1990s, Dr. Rall suggested North Central give research students the opportunity to present their work to a collegewide audience to solicit feedback.

His suggestion prompted the college to initiate the annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research in 1998.

Dr. Rall visited the school every year to give feedback at the symposium, often bringing award-winning colleagues along with him.

"To be able to be evaluated and reviewed by someone of his stature, and Nobel Prize winners, I'm not sure you get that in many places," Spencer said. "It was wonderful watching him work with our students."

Dr. Rall is survived by his daughter, Priscilla; his son, Edward C.; three grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and numerous step-great grandchildren.

Gifts in Dr. Rall's memory may be made to North Central College, 30 N. Brainard St., Naperville.