IRMA PIRTLE, 78, who was a research assistant professor for the biology department at UNT, died May 3 in Huntsville, Alabama. She received her chemistry degree from the University of Alabama and her Ph.D. in analytic chemistry from the University of Louisville. Before moving to Denton with her husband, Robert Pirtle, she worked in New York after having received a National Institutes of Health Fellowship from Brookhaven National Laboratories. At UNT, Irma and Robert operated a “Ma and Pa” research lab for 32 years, received many research grants, published several scientific articles and presented at numerous conferences in countries such as Sweden, Germany and England. They also donated to UNT Libraries.