Max Gergel was a Columbia, South Carolina native, 1942 graduate of the University of South Carolina, and a chemist. In 1977 he authored the memoir, Excuse Me, Sir, Would You Like to Buy a Kilo of Isopropyl Bromide? He later wrote a sequel, The Ageless Gergel. In 1998, he was featured in the Fall issue of the USC Chemist, a newsletter published by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.