There will be a memorial service on Friday, Feb. 5, for Ethan R. Nadel, director of the Yale-affiliated John B. Pierce Laboratory, who died of cancer on Dec. 26 at his home in Guilford, Conn. He was professor of epidemiology and public health and of cellular and molecular physiology at the School of Medicine.

The service in honor of the noted physiologist will take place at 2 p.m. in Dwight Chapel, 67 High St. All are welcome to attend.

Professor Nadel, 57, was an authority in the area of human thermoregulation during exercise and heat exposure. He spent much of his research career studying the mechanisms by which people attain physical fitness through exercise training and become acclimatized to heat exposure. He was particularly interested in the factors that govern the regulation of blood volume and their effects on physical performance and heat tolerance.

He became involved as a consultant in the M.I.T. Daedalus Project in 1986, which took human-powered flight to a new level with a successful non-stop flight in 1988 between the Aegean islands of Crete and Santorini. He also had an interest in the problems of physical fitness and aging, and for many years ran a study in conjunction with Heritage Retirement Village in Connecticut, looking at patterns of exercise and fitness among the elderly residents.

During his tenure as director of the Pierce Laboratory from 1989 to 1998, Professor Nadel planned and oversaw an expansion and major renovation of the laboratory's facilities, and was instrumental in the growth of the research staff to a level of 25 scientists and postdoctoral students. He also strengthened the relationship between the laboratory and the School of Medicine, paving the way for many medical and graduate students to complete significant portions of their training using Pierce facilities and expertise.

A native of the Washington, D.C., area, Professor Nadel received a bachelor's degree from Williams College and a doctorate in environmental physiology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He then undertook postdoctoral studies at the Pierce Laboratory and subsequently was appointed assistant professor at the School of Medicine in 1970.

A fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, he was a member of the American Physiological Society (APS), as well as the Sigma Xi Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He chaired the APS program committee and served on its council for the past three years. He served also on the board of trustees of the American College of Sports Medicine 1982-85, and was a scientific consultant to the Gatorade Division of the Quaker Oats Co. Professor Nadel was an author of more than 140 scientific papers and edited three monographs on exercise and thermoregulation.

The Yale physiologist received numerous awards and recognitions. He was a fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, a national lecturer for the Sigma Xi Society, the Harry G. Armstrong Lecturer for the Aerospace Medical Association in 1991. He was to receive the Edward F. Adolph Distinguished Lecturer of the American Physiological Society at its meeting in April and a Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine at its annual meeting in June.

Professor Nadel was actively involved in local affairs in his home town of Guilford, where he resided for the past 24 years, and had served on the Guilford Conservation Commission. He was the husband of Emilia Bergamasco and a son of Ruth G. Nadel of Washington, D.C., and the late Aaron B. Nadel. He is also survived by his two daughters, Dana Foley of New York City and Maya Bergamasco of Guilford; as well as his brothers, John B. and Roger S., both of Los Angeles, and Gordon L. of Jasper, Ore.