Crodowaldo Paván, one among the great, has passed away

At the beginning of April, one of the most important men of science in Brazil in the second half of the 20^th century passed away. A renowned geneticist, leader and disseminator of science, appreciated for his intellectual and humanitarian conditions, Crodowaldo Paván leaves behind a deep mark in the evolution of science in the region.

A descendant of Italian immigrants, Paván changed at an early age a natural path to engineering for an enthusiastic career in the natural sciences. Under the influence of Andrés Dreyfus, a master of Brazilian genetics at the University of São Paulo (USP) and by his colleague Theodosius Dobzhansky, from Columbia University, Paván oriented his professional activity towards the study of the mysteries of the genes and their use for the benefit of mankind.

Early in his life he took part in activities related to the promotion of science. He presided over the council of the Brazilian Society for Genetics and participated in the beginnings of the foundation for the promotion of research of the University of São Paulo (FAPESP).

He lived and worked in the United States on three occasions; during his postdoctoral stage at the University of Columbia, as a researcher at the biology division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and upon joining the academic staff of the University of Texas.

After returning to his professor position at USP, Paván undertook in the eighties an intense activity in favor of the development of his country and of the science and technology sector, becoming an outstanding leader and mobilizer of the latter. He was elected President of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) from 1981 to 1986 and was designated as President of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) from 1986 to 1990, leaving in both institutions an indelible mark of enthusiasm, fairness and balance. Convinced of the importance of international cooperation in science and technology matters, he participated actively in the area of programming and presided over the Inter-American Science and Technology Committee of the Organization of American States.

Notwithstanding, his great passion was research, which led him to produce numerous publications that made of him a pioneer of modern genetics in Brazil and Latin America. Among his studies stand out the discovery, in the fly Rhynchosciara angelae, of the amplification process in genes of giant chromosomes upon duplication of discreet DNA segments, opening a new field of genetic and cytological inquiry; his studies on biological plague control; and, towards the end of his life, his studies about the actions of endosymbiotic bacteria in plant seeds and bird eggs.

Paván was a great promoter of science dissemination and popularization. In the last years, while being active as an Emeritus Professor at USP and the University of Campinas, he devoted himself to such activities with great intensity, acting as coordinator of scientific dissemination of the José Reis Nucleus of the School of Communications and Arts of the former institution and as President of the Brazilian Association for Scientific Dissemination (Abradic).

Crodowaldo Paván was a loyal friend of the Interciencia Association and was a member of the Editorial Committee of our journal. He collaborated throughout the years in the efforts to mold both of them, being conscious of the important forum represented by this federation and the relevance of the participation of the Brazilian scientists and Brazilian science in this initiative, as well as of having a regional trilingual medium of high level for scientific communication. On registering his departure, we deeply regret the loss of one of our most appreciated collaborators and one of the most illustrious men of science in Latin America.

Miguel Laufer, Editor