Obituary

T. Richard Houpt, professor of physiology emeritus and a College of Veterinary Medicine faculty member for 30 years, died suddenly at his home in Ithaca, Oct. 7, two days short of his 78th birthday. The educator and expert in the physiology of feeding and water-drinking maintained an active research program up to the day of his death. College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Donald F. Smith called Houpt "one of those rare individuals whose breadth of knowledge matched his depth of understanding. He could speak with authority and precision on topics ranging from ruminant metabolism to animal husbandry to acid-base balance," Smith said, adding: "Dr. Houpt's many students and colleagues were charmed by his equal measures of charm, wit and humility."

Houpt joined the Cornell faculty in 1971, after teaching for 18 years at University of Pennsylvania, where he had earned a Ph.D. (1958) in physiology and a V.M.D. (1950) at the School of Veterinary Medicine. He also held an M.S. (1953) in veterinary pathology from University of Illinois.

In the early 1950s, Houpt was part of the Duke Desert Expedition to Algeria, where it was discovered that, contrary to popular belief, the camel does not store water in its hump. Rather, camels save water by letting their body temperatures rise and conserve nitrogen by recycling it, the expedition team demonstrated. Dispelling another misconception, Houpt and colleague Ted Hammel traveled to Lapland where they proved that even reindeer have trouble keeping cool in frigid temperatures -- that exercising reindeer must pant to dissipate heat. Houpt's Cornell research into feeding physiology of ruminants and pigs found the source of the time-to-stop-eating signal. Osmotic pressure in the gastrointestinal tract, Houpt demonstrated, is the cause of satiety. If humans ate like pigs, we would seldom overeat, he said.

Houpt is survived by his wife of 41 years, Katherine Albro Houpt, professor of physiology, as well as two sons and a brother. Memorial contributions can be made to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine or to Cornell's Flower-Sprecher Library.