George Bell, former group leader of T-10 and director of T Division, died May 28, 2000. Bell came to the then Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in 1951, joining T Division's effort to find a workable design and then develop the first thermonuclear weapons.

Bell also was a Laboratory Senior Fellow and former group leader of Theoretical Biology and Biophysics (T-10).

In the 1960s, Bell was one of a small group of physicists at Los Alamos who began to work seriously in biology. He focused on immunology, and in 1970 published a seminal paper formulating a quantitative immunological model that could be computationally explored. In the following three decades, his own work and his leadership in attracting and mentoring a number of younger scientists made it the leading center for theoretical immunology.

He also encouraged and made possible the development of other aspects of theoretical biology in T-10, notably molecular biology and genetics. When, in the mid-1980s, Los Alamos undertook an exploration of the possibility of mapping and sequencing the entire human genome, Bell was an active participant. This work set in motion what is now the Human Genome Program. As the Human Genome Program became a major national enterprise, he led in establishing a key role for the laboratory.

He is also remembered as a world-class mountaineer. His first exposure to technical climbing came during a summer camp to the Tetons while in High School. It quickly developed into a passion and he went on 4 expeditions to the Peruvian Andes in the 50's. He was a member of teams that made the first ascent of Yerupaja in 1950 and of Salcantay in 1952, two of Peru's highest and most difficult peaks.

In 1953, Bell attempted K2 (then unclimbed) with a well-knit team. They endured a horrific storm for a week at 25,000', and a terrible accident on the way down. The entire team could easily have been lost, but miraculously all but one team member staggered into base camp. This was a pivotal event in the lives of the seven surviving team members, who became as close as brothers. Bell was carried out from base camp and eventually lost two toes to frostbite. This climb is the subject of the classic mountaineering book: K2 The Savage Mountain. Despite this, his enthusiasm for climbing was undiminished. He went on several more Himalayan expeditions, culminating in the first ascent of Masherbrum in 1960 (the 25th highest peak in the world).