You probably don't remember me; we were your neighbors in Switzerland. My son Nathan stayed in touch with Corey for a few years and we have good memories of that time. I remember your dad telling us a funny story about your dog (your dad asked the dog to sit while he made a sandwich, then he went upstairs and forgot to release the dog...who was still sitting in the same spot two hours later - that's not the only reason why we got a portuguese water dog a few years ago, but it has become part of the legend :)) I am so sorry for your loss. My mom passed away from brain cancer just before we came to Switzerland. It is a tough disease with a hard ending. It took a while for me to remember her as she was without the cancer, but it happened Besides the dog story, I remember your dad as an amazing and dedicated scientist, who also managed to be a generous and kind person - that is not always so common in academia. We were all better off for him having been in the world. Best, Susan
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2019, Winter graduation Kohl Centre
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I was a visiting student in Joel's lab in 2016 and also attended his class of Environmental Organic Chemistry. I have never seen a person who is so insightful, caring and passionate on research like him. He set an example for each of his student. I'm truly grateful for his mentoring. From 2019, we had close collaboration on the transformation of nanomaterials. On May he was even commenting on my manuscript. Just as I told him by email, "I have made great improvement from your corrections, comments and notes during our several round of revisions". He was the one who took me into the science world and have always been a guiding light along my career path. I'm so sorry for the loss of Joel. I'll always think of him whenever. My heartful condolence to Carleen and Joel's family.
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Joel and I followed parallel career paths and interacted many times over the years. While he was often one of the smartest and best informed people in the room - you would not necessarily know it. He was always respectful and highly interested in other opinions and thoughts. As an associate editor for Environmental Science: Nano, he was a valued member of the team and a long-time friend and colleague to me and many, many others. His many contributions to the environmental nanotechnology and environmental chemistry communities will be long remembered. My heart goes out to his family.
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The TISED community at McGill sends their heartfelt condolences to the Pedersen family. Joel spent part of the 2019 year at TISED, at McGill University, Montreal, as our Scholar-in-Residence. Joel stimulated many discussions with our research faculty and students. During his time at TISED, he led a research workshop with researchers from Canada, the U.S. and Europe, where he shared his vision on the use of safe nanomaterials for sustainable energy applications, an area that he was passionately engaged in research on. His intellect, energy and enthusiasm for teaching and research will be greatly missed by all his colleagues.
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Although Joel and I were colleagues at UW-Madison, we got to know each other through our shared love of Torah Study at Temple Beth El in Madison. I cherished listening to Joel’s thoughts on the origins, meaning, and implications of each week’s Torah passage. We all feel that we have lost a great friend, so insightful, so caring, and so committed to a better world, with a wonderful sense of humor and a gleam in his eye. He had a clarity of thought and a fierce determination that made us all stop and listen, each and every week. It was just so much fun talking with Joel. His essential decency was a model for all of us.
Joel and I worked together on two projects at Temple Beth El. The first was a series of talks entitled "Conversations on Global Crises: Voices of the Madison Jewish Community" (of course it was Joel who coined this title). Joel gave the second talk, on the relation between Judaism and the Environment, in August, 2020. It is brilliant in its presentation, so compelling and compassionate, reflecting Joel’s deep thinking about climate change and the Torah over many years. You can view it at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch…
Joel and I then joined the Temple Climate Change Action Team, headed by Marta Karlov. Marta interviewed Joel in September, 2021. You can read this wonderful exchange to learn more tidbits about Joel’s thinking at:
https://www.tbemadison.org/bl…
Lastly, I had the privilege of working with Carleen's and Joel’s son Corey when Corey was an undergraduate at UW-Madison. We worked together on studies close to Joel’s own research. I am proud to say that the apple does not fall far from the tree.
Gil Nathanson
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I am so sorry to hear the sad news about Joel. I knew him best from the outdoor camping adventures that he and I had with our sons, both in the Boundary Waters and the Rockies. He was a fascinating guy to talk with with a subtle wit and deep faith. He loved Carleen and his sons deeply. I have great respect and love for this man.
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Deeply saddened to learn of Joel's illness and tragic loss - sincerest sympathies to his family, research group members, friends and colleagues around the world. I have long admired Joel as a scientist and had the privilege to work alongside him as an Associate Editor on Environmental Science: Nano and to appreciate his wisdom, insight and scientific rigour. RIP Joel.
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I was at AEESP conference closing banquet when I heard the shocking news of Joel’s passing the day before. I was and still am deeply saddened by such sudden and unexpected news. Memories flood my mind. I was fortunate to have Joel as my postdoc mentor working on the environmental fate and transport of prion proteins. We had a lot of fun time to deal with the infectious proteins in BL3 lab. Joel became the leading expert in environmental transmission of prion diseases and was repeatedly approached by various government (domestic or foreign), or industry, or public on the management of the disease. He had broad interests in various topics, including colloidal science and nanomaterials, which had a great impact on my own career. While a soft spoken, gentle and kind soul towards people around him, his energy, enthusiasm, brilliance and rigor always shined through his research, teaching and mentoring. A life well lived and positively impacted so many. Joel lives forever in our memories and his spirit is around us. Deepest condolences! May he rest in peace!
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I had the privilege of collaborating with Joel on several scientific studies of Chronic Wasting Disease. Joel was always patient, soft spoken, and ready to share his scientific expertise. I particularly enjoyed our back-and-forth discussions on the relative importance of direct and indirect transmission of CWD in wild deer. He would patiently disagree with his colleges and published science without being overly critical. I appreciated his continual efforts to educate me on the details of laboratory techniques used for the detection and animal models in CWD research. His loss will be a impediment to our progress on understanding the complex environmental epidemiology of CWD. But most of all it is a heart-breaking loss for his family – my profound sympathy on Joel’s passing.
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I miss Joel already.
His wisdom, kindness, and good humor made him one of a kind.
I'm so glad that he and I had a chance to be good neighbors.
Sincerely and in thanks,
Scott Winger
Verona, WI
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2013, Kohl Center, West Dayton Street, Madison, WI, USA
Joel and Christina (@ Christina's PhD Commencement Ceremony). As I wrote in my PhD thesis acknowledgements: Joel provided me an opportunity to learn from exemplary model, setting the bar high and always encouraging me to reach higher, and provided an environment that challenged me to think beyond my biological perspectives on science. I thank him for his unwavering support and for giving me every opportunity to become the best scientist I possibly could. I am grateful to have had him as a mentor and guiding light along my professional path. My condolences go out to his family, colleagues, students, and all who knew him.
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Although Joel was only at the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering for a short time, his absence will definitely be felt. Everyone who crossed paths with him talked of his energy and his deep commitment to students and the scientific community. I was looking forward to getting to know Joel better as a colleague, and I am saddened that I won’t have that chance.
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I only met and knew Joel from TBE's Torah Study group, where - as elsewhere described - he was thoughtful, wise, eager to hear others and eager to explain his understanding of the topic. He was always generous with compliments and gentle with corrections. He is sorely missed by our group; his legacy of wisdom and kindness will serve as an example to all who knew him, and I'm sure be continued by his family. My sympathy to his family and friends world-wide.
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