At this writing, he has seven publications in various stages of revision and an equal number in process. Freed of teaching demands, Townsend has had more time to devote to other activities. He spent a lot of time this past year working for a Washington, D.C.-based American Chemical Society committee, which meets with congressional representatives to explain the need for continuing government and industry investment in chemical and pharmaceutical research. This is retirement, Townsend-style. Asked if he intends to remain at U-M indefinitely, Townsend shrugs.
Timelines become irrelevant after a while.
I think as long as you are pursuing relevant research and publishing research findings on a regular basis, your work will be funded. I'm not concerned about what comes next. The greatest tribute I could imagine is to have our med-chem program become even better than it was when I was chairman. You are not a very good leader if the program you directed is not prepared to function without you. Regarding his career high points, Townsend remarks that it's difficult to single out any one thing.