Initial Reactions

by C. Kenneth Stern and Mike Selinker
Answer: RUDGE

Each clue can be answered by two persons whose names fit the pattern of "?. Middlename Lastname". A "fusion" reaction means that you add the alphanumeric position of the two first initials to get a new letter (e.g., A+B=C), while a "fission" reaction means you subtract the earlier one from the later one (e.g., C-B=A). Reading the new letters in order spells MIT CHAIR ENDOWER E THIS ALLEN. An MIT Media Center professorship currently held by John Maeda was endowed by E. RUDGE Allen.

• Recipient of the National Academy of Sciences' Public Welfare Medal: C. Everett Koop + J. Edgar Hoover = M
• Fantasy roleplaying game creator who died in 2008: N. Robin Crossby – E. Gary Gygax = I
• Manhattan Project member who oversaw development of a nuclear weapon at Los Alamos: J. Robert Oppenheimer + J. Carson Mark = T
• Late 1990s SFWA honoree for his screen work: M. Night Shyamalan – J. Michael Straczynski = C
• Survivor of the Titanic disaster noted for court appearances thereafter: R. Norris Williams – J. Bruce Ismay = H
• Mercury Seven astronaut: M. Scott Carpenter – L. Gordon Cooper = A
• Baby Face Nelson star: F. Murray Abraham + C. Thomas Howell = I
• Author with a top 5 book on the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels: L. Ron Hubbard + F. Scott Fitzgerald = R
• Senator from Nebraska in office in January 2001: J. Robert Kerrey - E. Ben Nelson = E
• Trainer who won the Belmont Stakes four times: R. Wyndham Walden – D. Wayne Lukas = N
• Media personality who found a home at Air America Radio and is best known for a Saturday show: A. Whitney Brown + C. Welton Gaddy = D
• Contributor to The Best American Short Stories 1997: T. Coraghessan Boyle – E. Annie Proulx = O
• Recipient of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal: R. Buckminster Fuller + E. Fay Jones = W
• Editor in the 1976 comic Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man: J. Jonah Jameson – E. Nelson Bridwell = E
• Top-level Bush administration official accused of "crimes against peace" by Ramsey Clark in 1991: H. Norman Schwarzkopf + J. Danforth Quayle = R
• Namesake of a museum whose curator lectured in the George Eastman House Travel Photography Series in November: O. Winston Link – J. Paul Getty = E
• Prolific author who wrote about "The Wizard" around the turn of the last century: L. Frank Baum + H. Rider Haggard = T
• Women's Basketball Hall of Famer who helmed a program in Iowa: C. Vivian Stringer + E. Wayne Cooley = H
• Trial lawyer linked to a racially charged case who was disbarred, in part, for dubious handling of fees: F. Lee Bailey + C. Vernon Mason = I
• High-level Nixon appointee who failed to win Senate confirmation: G. Harrold Carswell + L. Patrick Gray = S
• Actor with a small role in The Six Wives of Henry Lefay: T. Anthony Quinn – S. Epatha Merkerson = A
• Politically active multi-billionaire from Texas: T. Boone Pickens – H. Ross Perot = L
• Watergate burglary planner: G. Gordon Liddy + E. Howard Hunt = L
• Well-known character actor who was in one of the Fletch films: R. Lee Ermey – M. Emmet Walsh = E
• D.C. insider whose role in a major political scandal was revealed in 2005: W. Mark Felt – I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby = N