William Carl, 70, researcher and dental volunteer

William Carl, a dentist and researcher at UB and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), died unexpectedly in his sleep Feb. 15 after successfully climbing to the top of Mt. Mercedario in western Argentina. He was 70.

Carl graduated from the UB School of Dental Medicine and completed a two-year certificate graduate program in fixed prosthodontics.

In 1968, he joined RPCI as a dental surgeon and maxillofacial prosthodontist. Five years later, he joined the dental faculty at UB, teaching in the fixed prosthodontics program. He was a clinical associate professor of restorative dentistry at UB and senior cancer dental surgeon at RPCI at the time of his death.

"He was one of the pioneers in managing the oral problems of cancer patients that resulted from surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and immunosuppression," said Norman Schaaf, chair of the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Prosthetics at RPCI.

Carl authored or co-authored more than 100 scholarly articles, book chapters and a textbook, and lectured extensively in North and South America.

An avid hiker and photographer, he combined his hobbies, profession and concern for others by providing much-needed dental services to people in poor and often remote areas abroad.

He was a "traveling dentist" in parts of Africa, South and Central America, hauling only the basic equipment to extract teeth because he lacked the facilities to provide more than minimal care.

Carl received the American Dental Association's International Service Award three times for his volunteer work in Haiti, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

He also received the Humanitarian Award from the UB Dental Alumni Association and the New York State Dental Society's Journalism Award for superior journalistic efforts in the area of oral health.

He was a member of the American Dental Association, the New York Dental Society, the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics, the International College of Dentists and the Eastern Great Lakes Head and Neck Oncology Association.

A memorial service is pending.