In memoriam: Beverly Petterson Bishop (1922-2008).

PTJ does not usually publish tributes, as there are so many physical therapists who have given so much to their profession and to rehabilitation science. We make an exception in this case because of the direct impact that Dr Beverly Bishop has had on PTJ's Editorial Board over the years. B orn in Corning, NY, Bishop earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Syracuse University in 1944, a master of science degree in experimental psychology at the University of Rochester in 1946, and a PhD in physiology at the University of Buffalo in 1957. She was a State University of New York (SUNY) Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Buffalo and also received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her teaching career spanned more than 50 years, during which she taught neurophysiology to almost 40 cohorts of physical therapist students. She also authored more than 150 scholarly articles, many in PTJ 1–19 ; edited 4 books; and produced seminal monographs and book chapters in the area of neurophysiology. Her research interests included the identifi cation and analysis of motor control in humans and animals. An honorary member of APTA, Bishop was very much involved with the profession of physical therapy. Not only did she passionately teach neurophysiology to physical therapist students, but she published a series of groundbreaking articles on neuro-plasticity 1–4 in the pages of this journal in the early 1980s. Through that series, she demonstrated powerfully why it was so important for all physical therapists to understand the need to investigate the scientifi c basis for intervention. She made us aware of the potential relationship between therapeutic interventions and plasticity in the brain. In fact, Bishop was one of the pioneers in searching for scientifi c research that examined the effi cacy of physical therapy. She kept in close touch with research developments within our profession. Dr Paul Helders: Whenever I visited Beverly in her self-designed home in Amherst, NY, PTJ was always visible somewhere in her house. One of her most remarkable traits was her youthful and creative spirit. Science and teaching truly fascinated her. These were 2 things she couldn't let go of. Her enthusiasm and the true pleasure she found in using technology in teaching was remarkable. She loved preparing Power-Point presentations and the possibilities they created for the transfer of knowledge. Just this past spring, she e-mailed me that she …