Neville Robert Kallenbach

Neville Robert Kallenbach died on March 22, 2026 at age 88, surrounded by his beloved children, grandchildren, and wife.

Neville was born on January 30, 1938 in Johannesburg, South Africa. At age 12, he entered boarding school in Switzerland, where his academic talents, and his proclivity for making mischief, revealed themselves. Despite launching a wooden plane laden with pyrotechnics into a school courtyard and blowing up a toilet with fireworks, he skipped two grades in school and graduated early. He immigrated to the United States in 1954, joining his mother, and entered college at Rutgers at age 16.

As an undergraduate at Rutgers he met his wife Susan Kallenbach (née Rothberg) on a blind date set up by his fraternity brother. They graduated in 1958, married, and moved to New Haven, where Neville did his Ph.D. at Yale under Nobel laureate Lars Onsager. Neville finished his Ph.D. in 3 years, and moved to La Jolla for his post-doctoral work at UCSD. Neville and Susan welcomed their son Charles in 1963. They moved to Philadelphia where Neville started as a professor at Penn. In 1968 they welcomed their daughter, Lisa.

Neville conducted groundbreaking research in biophysical chemistry, investigating the structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids. He authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, including several breakthroughs published in Nature and Science, which were cited cumulatively more than 18,000 times. He was granted tenure at Penn, where he was a professor from 1964 to 1987, and later became a full professor at NYU, where he chaired the department from 1987 to 1995. He was endlessly curious about the world, and loved sharing his knowledge with others. His students report that he would not rest until they understood the material. He taught more than 10,000 students introductory chemistry, and mentored hundreds of graduate students. Many of his graduate and undergraduate students went on to become professors and physicians. He authored a textbook for non-chemistry majors with his close friend Trace Jordan: “Chemistry: The Molecules of Life.”

Despite his myriad accomplishments, he never took himself too seriously. He pulled pranks on his students, including having a friend put on a gorilla suit and attack him mid-lecture, and removing a finger from his glove, dipping it into liquid nitrogen, and shattering it with a hammer, to the horror of those watching.

In 1999, he married Martha Repman and moved to Chestnut Hill, where they built a loving community of friends, fell in love with the Morris Arboretum, and built up an encyclopedic knowledge of local birds.

Neville had a lifelong commitment to peace, equality, and the health of our planet, and was willing to make real sacrifices for it. In the 1970s, he took in an unhoused man who frequently slept outside his office, Ed. Ed lived with him and his family for more than 10 years. He burned draft cards in JFK Plaza in the 1960s, volunteered regularly at a nearby soup kitchen, relentlessly lobbied to make his retirement community greener, and organized protests until he physically could not.

Neville was a magnetic presence. His warmth, generosity, and sense of humor drew in a wide circle of friends and colleagues. He got into many adventures and hijinks. He had legendary water fights with his neighbors, created a last man standing pool with his best friends (sadly, he is not the last man standing), organized a trip to Nebraska to witness the crane migration, and went sailing on the Delaware River well into his eighties. He shared countless meals at his beloved CinCin or his go-to spots in the West Village with close friends and family.

He was an ever-present, engaged, and loving grandfather to his five grandchildren, to whom he was “Popop.” Perhaps due to his own childlike nature, he had an incredible gift of connecting with children of all ages. He helped his grandkids prank their parents, collaborated with them on crosswords, and brought them birdwatching. He happily entered whatever world they were inhabiting at the moment, whether that meant being buried up to his neck in the sand at Rehoboth Beach, or prancing around like a deer before being hit by a foam arrow. He tutored his grandkids in math and biology, discussing the lac operon late into the night even in the week before he died.

Neville found the world endlessly fascinating, and he loved making it more fascinating for everyone around him — whether the subject was protein folding, opera, or the birds outside the window. His spirit reminds us to stay curious, to be kind to strangers, to never quite grow up, and to make joy in every moment with family and friends.

Neville was preceded in death by his sisters Dale and Diane. He is survived by his wife Martha, his children Charles and Lisa, his brother Steven (Michele), and his grandchildren Evie (Danny), Jonah, Sophie, Grace, and Lily.

The family will be receiving visitors for a Shiva at Lisa Kallenbach’s home, from 6:30pm-9pm, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. A memorial service is being planned and will be held in the next few months.

In lieu of flowers, the family recommends making a donation to Indivisible.