Bradford N. Bunnell
Dr. Bradford N. Bunnell, 79, died on December 8 in Ashville, NC. Dr. Bunnell’s undergraduate education at Amherst College was interrupted in 1949 when he joined the U.S. Navy. He was a naval aviator during the Korean conflict, serving with an antisubmarine warfare squadron off the coast of Korea. He subsequently graduated from Amherst in 1955.
Dr. Bunnell received his graduate training in psychology at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) in Pittsburgh, PA. A former classmate at CIT, Professor Len Jarrard recalls “An early indication of his exceptional promise in the field of physiological psychology appeared when the graduate faculty at CIT chose to award him a Ph.D. degree for the research he conducted for a master’s thesis – and this was after only 3 years”.
In 1958, Dr. Bunnell was recruited to the University of Florida to join a group established to develop a center for study of the brain sciences. His dissertation and subsequent numerous publications with student and colleagues involved limbic system regulation of social behavior and endocrine responses. He was promoted to professor in 1967. Dr. Bunnell moved to the University of Georgia (UGA) as a professor in 1968. In 1980, while on sabbatical leave from UGA, Professor Bunnell was a senior research fellow at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), where he contributed extensively to studies of the regulation of pituitary and plasma endocrine responses to stress and aggression in rodents, including effects of gender. He returned to UGA in 1981 to serve as chair of the Biopsychology program, and also served as Associate Dean of the UGA Graduate School. His collaboration with scientists at WRAIR continued for many years after his return to UGA. ver his career, Dr. Bunnell supervised numerous Ph.D dissertations, and was active in many professional societies, including the SFN. Dr. Bunnell retired from the University of Georgia in June of 1998 and continued to serve as a Professor Emeritus until his death.
Brad’s wife of 49 years, Irene K. Bunnell, died in 2001. Professor Bunnell leaves his partner and best friend, Nancy Polansky, sons Glenn B. Bunnell and Charles D. Bunnell and a brother, David M. Bunnell. Brad Bunnell was a gentle, kind and generous man – a mentor and friend to colleagues and generations of graduate students. Memorial contributions may be made to the Society for Neuroscience Memorial Fund in memory of Bradford N. Bunnell.
