NIH Official, Computer Expert John Makulowich

John Makulowich, 63, a computer expert who was communications director of the John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, died March 11 of a heart attack at his home in North Potomac.

Mr. Makulowich spent the past six years at NIH, where he was a speechwriter for NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, and had worked at the National Cancer Institute. At the Fogarty Center for more than two years, he managed the daily operations of the communications office and was a public liaison officer and webmaster.

During his varied career, he was a communications strategist, TV and radio guest, public speaker, teacher, reporter and columnist. Before he worked at NIH, he wrote the "On the Ledge" column for USA Today on computer technology developments. He was the senior technology writer for Washington Technology, a Washington PostNewsweek publication, which recognized him in 1998 with its Editorial Excellence Award.

Well regarded for his knowledge of the Internet and online research, Mr. Makulowich regularly discussed state-of-the-art computer developments on "Public Interest," a National Public Radio program with Kojo Nnamdi on WAMU-FM (88.5). He also taught many Web-related courses at NIH and at George Washington University as an adjunct professor.

Mr. Makulowich was born in Weehawken, N.J., and graduated from Bethany College in West Virginia. He received master's degrees from Boston University in 1967 and the University of California at Berkeley in 1969, both in philosophy. He was a communications specialist for Tenneco Inc. and later a communications consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington. He also was executive director of the D.C.-based Electric Vehicle Council and a public affairs specialist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In the early days of the Internet, in the late 1980s, he taught classes on Internet use for the U.S. Agency for International Development and other organizations throughout the world.

He was known globally for his Awesome List, a catalog of Internet sites he selected, and was profiled in a 1996 book, "Secrets of the Super Net Searchers: The Reflections, Revelations, and Hard-Won Wisdom of 35 of the World's Top Internet Researchers."

Survivors include his wife, Gail Makulowich of North Potomac; and two children, Sean Makulowich and Ashley Makulowich, both of North Potomac.