Ulrich Karl Melcher, 80, of Stillwater, Oklahoma passed away on July 13, 2025. A service to celebrate his life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July 28, at Strode Funeral Home Chapel, Stillwater, Oklahoma with Reverend Susan Ross officiating. Strode Funeral Home and Cremation is in charge of arrangements.

Ulrich Karl Melcher was born in London, UK, to Ernest and Lotte Melcher, who had left Germany for England at the beginning of WWII. They immigrated to the United States when Ulrich was six years old. He grew up in Queens, NY, and graduated from Staples High School, Westport, CT.

He then earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Michigan State University under Professor Joseph E. Varner. At Michigan State, he met Karen Sandstedt, and they were married in 1968.

His postdoctoral training took him abroad and across the U.S., first as a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, and then as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at both New York University Medical School and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

Dr. Melcher began his faculty career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at UT Southwestern Medical School. After a year, he joined the Department of Biochemistry at Oklahoma State University (OSU), where he would spend the remainder of his career. As Director of OSU's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Recombinant DNA/Protein Resource Facility and a member of the OSU Institute for Biosecurity and Microbial Forensics, he made significant contributions to viral evolution, biodiversity, microbial forensics, and plant-pathogen interactions. Rising through the academic ranks, he was ultimately honored as a Regents Professor.

Dr. Melcher earned numerous accolades, including being named the inaugural Robert J. Sirny Professor of Agricultural Biochemistry and a recipient of the OSU Regents Distinguished Research Award. He was also the recipient of the Phoenix Award for Graduate Faculty and the James A. Whatley Award of Merit for excellence in agricultural research.

He was a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society and a member of the Microbial Forensics Interest Group. He served as president of OSU's Sigma Xi chapter and president and treasurer of OSU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors. He also held leadership roles in the Oklahoma Academy of Science.

Dr. Melcher enjoyed teaching and mentoring students. He will be remembered not only for his scientific brilliance but also for his generosity, mentorship, and the lasting impact he made on his students, colleagues, and the broader scientific community.

He loved traveling with his family; learning new languages; cycling; playing music on the piano, clarinet, and recorder; and working on the Sunday New York Times crossword. In his later years, he and his wife Karen became members of the Oakcreek Community in Stillwater.

Ulrich is survived by his loving wife Karen Melcher; daughters Sonya and husband Jonathan Fogg, Katherine Melcher and her husband Mark Johnson; step-grandchild Alex Johnson

Ulrich is preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Lotte Melcher

The family would like to thank the staff at Legacy Village of Stillwater Memory Care for taking such good care of him during his final year.

Donations can be made out to Ulrich & Karen Melcher Endowed Graduate Research Fund (#21-47600), Oklahoma State University Foundation, and Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, The Nature Conservancy.