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Obituary: David Ogden

10 December 2021

We are deeply saddened to announce that our dear friend and colleague, David Ogden, died on 4th December 2021.
 
David had a long relationship with the department. He first joined us in 1960s, where he worked with David Colquhoun for many years. He was a gifted builder of equipment, helping to construct some of the earliest patch clamp amplifiers in the 1980s. He contributed far more than he admitted to the success of the department.

David Ogden with colleague in Plymouth in 2002

David Ogden also had an enormous impact on the next generation of researchers. For decades, he had been the lodestone of the Plymouth Cell Physiology Workshop, where students still start their learning by soldering together their own amplifiers. Many in the department have worked and taught with him for years, and know that we have lost irreplaceable expertise and kindness.

Professor David Colquhoun said "I do recall vividly DCO and I soldering our first patch clamp (Erwin Neher had given us a circuit  in 1979 or 1980). We hunted through 50 gigohm resistors from various sources to find the one with the lowest noise."

For anyone wishing to leave a tribute, this can be posted on a dedicated page that has been set up. This can be found via the link below.

David Ogden tributes

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him and worked with him.

Image: Courtesy of Professor David Colquhoun