Doyle, Thomas D. "Tom"

Deafened at age 8 from meningitis. Graduated a hearing high school, graduated Fordham University in the early 1960s, then took graduate school at MIT. Went to work for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Washington laboratories. Went back to grad school at George Washington University, earning a Ph.D., and continued working at the FDA, eventually becoming a branch chief and an internationally recognized organic chemist. Out of frustration with communication, began learning sign language in 1975 and taking advantage of sign language interpreters.