Statement by the University of Toronto on the death of two faculty members

It is with great sadness that the University of Toronto announces the tragic passing of two highly respected faculty members, Dr. Andrew Mark Herzenberg and Professor Avner Magen. The two men were on a climbing expedition in Alaska's Denali National Park and Reserve on Saturday, May 29 when they were killed by an avalanche.

Herzenberg was an assistant professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology of the Faculty of Medicine at U of T and was a rising star in renal pathology practice, teaching and research at the Toronto General Research Institute and University Health Network. Born in South Africa, he was also a graduate of U of T's medical school.

Magen was an associate professor in the Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga. He received his Ph.D at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and then held post-doctoral fellowships with the NEC Research Institute in Princeton and at U of T. He became an associate professor at U of T Mississauga in 2004. Magen's research work was in the area of algorithms.

Both men made important contributions to the university community and their deaths will be keenly felt by faculty, staff and students. The University of Toronto extends sincere condolences to their families for their tragic loss.

The University of Toronto flag will fly at half-mast June 3 in their memory.