Gonzalo Vidal

[Stefan.Bengtson@xxxxxx (Stefan Bengtson)]

Sad news from Uppsala. Gonzalo Vidal, eminent professor of
micropaleontology at Uppsala University, died on January 10th, at the age
of 53. Although Gonzalo had a long-standing heart condition, his unexpected
and premature demise came as a shock to all of us who had seen him happy
and seemingly healthy only hours earlier.

Gonzalo Vidal was born in Spain and emigrated to Sweden in the 1960s. After
graduate training at the University of Lund he spent a couple of years with
the New Zealand Geological Survey. His subsequent professional career was
based in Sweden - Lund and, from 1991, Uppsala - with interludes as a guest
scientist at the University of California Los Angeles and Harvard
University. Founding his work in late Proterozoic organic microfossils,
Gonzalo developed an ecumenical interest for all aspects of biological and
geological evolution in the Proterozoic and Cambrian, from tectonics to
biogeochemistry. His numerous publications and various international
activities made him an acclaimed leader of a major research field.

We will all miss him, surely and sorely. Our thoughts go to Gonzalo's
friends and colleagues at the Department of Geosciences in Uppsala and to
his relatives and family, most particularly his wife and co-worker,
Malgorzata Moczydlowska.

Stockholm, 13th January, 1997


Stefan Bengtson     Jan Bergstrom

Swedish Museum of Natural History