Irvine Hagadorn was a dedicated invertebrate endocrinologist and student of neurosecretion. A careful and incisive thinker and experimentalist, Dr. Hagadorn's investigations of leech endocrinology were truly pioneering and had implications for basic neuroendocrinology far beyond the life history of these annelid worms. Indeed, he was an invertebrate biologist for whom no artificial line of demarcation existed in the study of phenomena and the elaboration of concepts.

Hagadorn received his Ph.D. at Berkeley where he was a student of Howard Bern; he moved directly to Chapel Hill, eventually serving as chairman of the Department of Zoology. His course in comparative physiology was known for its rigorous content and for the lucidity of the lectures. To both undergraduate and graduate students he was consistently encouraging, supportive, and generous with his time and counsel.

To honor this esteemed colleague, our department has established a memorial fund in his honor, the proceeds of which are awarded annually to the outstanding junior in Biology.