Submitted by James V. Bruckner
After a six-year struggle with cancer, Randall Oliver Manning died peacefully at his home on Monday, January 16, 2012. He graduated with bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia (UGA). He received his PhD in 1986 under the direction of Roger Wyatt, and then worked with me, James Bruckner, as a postdoctoral associate. In 1990, Dr. Manning became the State Toxicologist for the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He dealt with a variety of problems with chemical contaminants of air and water in the state, serving as a liaison among the EPD, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD), and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Prevention (ATSDR), and people living in affected areas. Dr. Manning was competent, patient, and effective in dealing with local residents who were frequently distraught about what they perceived as serious threats to their health.
He was certified as a diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology and was a long-term member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). He joined SOT in 1991 and served as the SOT Southeastern Regional Chapter President and was a member of the Risk Assessment Specialty Section. He was an Adjunct Professor at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University as well as the UGA Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program (ITP). Dr. Manning played a very active role publishing research, serving on dissertation committees, and acting as a mentor each summer for undergraduate environmental health students. He expertly taught exposure and risk assessment in the ITP’s Principles of Toxicology and Chemical Toxicology graduate courses for 13 consecutive years (1997–2010). Dr. Manning served on the Board of Directors of Toxicology for Excellence in Risk Assessment (TERA) and frequently was a consultant to the US EPA and CDC/ATSDR.