Joseph Nichols, 92, passed away on Friday, November 27, 2009 at the King James Care Center in Chatham, NJ. He had been recovering from a stroke and a number of other ailments.

As a scientist, Dr. Nichols won distinction for his work in the research and development of collagen, for which he received the 1964 Johnson Medal, awarded by the Johnson & Johnson Executive Committee.

Born in New York City in 1917, Dr. Nichols received his B.S. from the College of the City of New York and his M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota. He held a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship and from 1942-43 performed war related scientific research for the National Defense Research Council. After the war, he did postgraduate research at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.

After his tenure at Johnson & Johnson, where he was Director of Research at the Ethicon division, Dr. Nichols founded and headed Princeton Biomedix Incorporated. This was the first of three companies engaged in the research and development of medical products that he founded, the others being Helitrex, Inc. and Prodex, Inc.

Dr. Nichols and his wife, Sylvia, settled in Princeton in the early 1950s. She was a concert pianist and he retained a lifelong love of classical music, including some study of the cello. Sylvia passed away in 1995. Dr. Nichols is survived by his two sons and three grandchildren.

Memorial services will begin on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at the Kimble Funeral Home, One Hamilton Ave., Princeton, NJ 08542, at 1:00P.M. Guests may gather at the funeral home from 12:30P.M.until 1:00P.M. Committal services will follow at Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, NJ.

Memorial contributions to University of Minnesota Foundation, McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak Street SE, Suite 500, Minneapolis, MN 55455-2010.