School of Health Sciences - Rodney Ice
2003 Distinguished Alumnus

Rodney Ice started his career as owner and operator of Rod's Tanglewilde Drugs in Olympia, Washington (1959 to 1965). After attending Purdue as a Radiological Health Fellow, he served as an assistant professor of radiochemistry and radiation safety officer at Temple University.

In 1971, he became professor of pharmacy at the University of Michigan and also held the position of director of radiopharmaceutical services at University Hospital. In his faculty positions, he taught a number of courses in health physics, radioisotope methodology, and nuclear pharmacy.

In 1976, Dr. Ice was appointed the dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma. During his tenure, he started nuclear pharmacies in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He served for a short period as vice president for corporate development at Benedict Nuclear Pharmaceuticals, and, in 1985, became vice president and director of research at Eagle-Picher Industries in Miami, Oklahoma.

In 1992, Dr. Ice assumed duties as a principal research scientist, adjunct professor, and radiation safety officer at Georgia Institute of Technology. He retired in 2003 after leading the decommissioning effort of the five-megawatt Georgia Tech Research Reactor. For this work, his group received a 2002 Georgia State Award in Engineering Excellence.

Dr. Ice has published more than 100 papers in the areas of nuclear pharmacy and health physics. He also mentored more than 40 graduate students during his tenure in academia. Prior to retiring, he was active in numerous professional societies and served as a reviewer for a number of journals. Currently, he is active in the Health Physics Society and is a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). In 2000, he was recognized by APhA as a Nuclear Pharmacy Pioneer for establishing the recognition of nuclear pharmacy as a specialty practice of pharmacy. He also was instrumental in the development of criteria to allow pharmacists to become board certified in nuclear pharmacy.

A certified health physicist and registered pharmacist, Dr. Ice received the honor of "Old Master" at Purdue in 1986. He retired as a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, having served as the nuclear science officer. He also has been active in his community and his church, teaching adult Sunday school and singing in the choir.