DR. SORINA CLAUDIA POPESCU

Sorina was born on March 4th, 1969, in Brasov, Romania to Elisabeta and Lazar Cristea. She earned her Master’s degree in Biology at the University of Bucharest, where she met her husband, George Popescu, a physics and engineering student. Together, they weathered the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and the chaos of post-Communist Romania, participating in meetings and marches for liberty and a free society. Their daughter Medeea was born in 1995, and shortly afterward the family emigrated to the United States. The family lived in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Upstate New York as Sorina moved from graduate school to post-doctoral studies and finally to professorship. After 7 years at Cornell, Sorina and George moved to Mississippi State University, where Sorina further developed her research and teaching. Outside of the lab, Sorina loved walking and biking at the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge, watching Nick’s soccer games and tennis matches, spending holidays on the Gulf Coast at the beach, and spending time in the kitchen of the family’s peaceful rural home. Despite a three-year struggle with breast cancer and many rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, Sorina never gave up on herself, her ability to heal, or her ability to meaningfully contribute to the field of plant biology. She continued to run her lab, teach classes and mentor her students until her last days. She was passionate about her work and touched the lives of so many people. She was lucky enough to visit her home country one last time, attend her daughter’s wedding, and learn of her son’s acceptance to Duke while battling the disease. Sorina died on December 19th, 2022, of metastatic breast cancer. She was 53. Sorina loved her family dearly and traveled back to Romania frequently to be with her parents, sister, and extended family. Her final resting place is the Holy Trinity Church in Schei, Brasov, Romania. She is survived by her sister, Luminita Popescu; her mother, Elizabeta Cristea; her son and daughter, Nicholas and Medeea Popescu; and her husband, George Popescu, in addition to many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Memorial donations may be made to the Dr. Sorina Popescu Memorial Annual Scholarship in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, MSU Foundation, P.O. Box 6149, Mississippi State, MS 39762. To make an online gift please visit www.msufoundation.com and designate the Dr. Sorina Popescu Memorial Annual Scholarship (#403663).

DR. SORINA CLAUDIA POPESCU

March 4, 1969 - December 19, 2022