Gerard Oscar Platau

Gerard Oscar Platau, 92, December 13, 2018 in Palm Harbor, Florida. Born in Potsdam, Germany, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Martin Platau. He arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1939. After receiving his PhD in Chemistry from Purdue University in 1950 at age 23, he came to Columbus and was associated with the American Chemical Society's Chemical Abstracts Service in a variety of positions, including Department Manager, Ass. Managing Editor, and Senior Advisor. He was a past Director and Parliamentarian of the Association for Information Science and Technology and was the recipient of their Watson Davis Award and their Lifetime Achievement Award. He served for fifteen years as Chair of the Conference Committee of the National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services and was named a Fellow of that Society. He chaired CODATA-90, a prestigious international meeting held in the United States in 1990. He was a consultant to the National Science Foundation's Division of Science Education Resources and a seminar leader for the American Management Association. He was a member of Sigma Xi and Phi Lambda Upsilon and listed in Who's Who in America and American Men and Women of Science. He was a Director of the Upper Arlington Civic Association and a member of Trinity and Heritage United Methodist Churches in Columbus and Clearwater, Florida. Upon retirement, he lived in Clearwater and Palm Harbor, Florida, where he became active in Condominium Association governances. He is survived by his wife Caroline, their son Steven and two grandchildren, Mark and Elizabeth.  Donations may be made to the charity of your choice. A graveside service will be held at Maple Grove Cemetery in North Lewisburg, Ohio, Saturday, December 22, at 12:30 PM. Online condolences may be made at www.deyodavis.com.

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