David Minard M.D.

David Minard, M.D. of Cambridge, MD, a distinguished physiologist in the field of occupational medicine, died on Sunday, October 9, 2005 at Chesapeake Woods Center, Cambridge, MD. He was 92. Born May 23, 1913 in Fargo, North Dakota, he was the son of the late Achibald and Gladys Pease Minard. Dr. Minard received his Ph. D in physiology and his M.D. from the University of Chicago. He received his Masters in Public Health from Harvard University. Dr. Minard served in the U.S. Navy and, beginning in 1943, was assigned to amphibious forces in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. Later in his Navy career, where he rose to the rank of captain, he was head of the Physiology Department at the Naval Research Institute in Bethesda, MD. He conducted pioneering research with servicemen and later with steelworkers, on the effects on the body of extreme heat and cold as well as thermal radiation. His work at the Naval Medical Research Institute in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, and later at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health, where he was named professor emeritus in 1974, continues to be cited by professionals in industrial medicine. In addition to authoring numerous articles on thermal stress, Dr. Minard served as a consultant to the National Institute of Health, the armed forces, and various governmental task forces charged with investigating military, environmental and industrial influences on the human body. His work on thermal stress was applied in NASA’s Mercury program and involved his evaluation of the original seven astronauts in his lab at the Naval Medical Research Institute in 1960. He served as a member and officer of many medical associations and boards, including the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the New York Academy of Sciences, which recognized his fifty years of service with an award in 1998. Dr. Minard was recipient of the 1960 Gorgas Medal from the Association of Military Surgeons for his contributions to military preventive medicine, as well as the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the Department of the Army in 1973 for his services as Director of the Commission on Environmental Health of the Armed Services Epidemiological Board. After retiring from academics in 1974, Dr. Minard decided to challenge himself with clinical medicine, and took positions at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, and at Memorial Hospital at Easton in Easton, MD, retiring from practice in 1980. Along with his professional endeavors, Dr. Minard was an accomplished photographer, sailor and turtle racer. Dr. Minard is survived by his wife, the former Dorotha J. Rittenhouse, whom he married in 1975; two sons, David Minard, Jr. of Boston, MA and Michael Minard of Katonrah, NY; a daughter, Mary Rebecca Kohlenberg of Providence, RI; a stepson, Michael Fallon of Annapolis, MD; a stepdaughter, Michelle Sposato of Columbus, OH; eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He was predeceased by a son, Nicholas Minard, who died in 1974. A service of remembrance will be held on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 1:00 PM at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. Donations in memory of Dr. Minard may be made to Chesapeake Woods Center, c/o the Homestead Unit, 525 Glenburn Ave., Cambridge, MD 21613. Arrangements are by Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P. A., Easton, MD.