Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2021

InMemoriam

paper pad and linked themwith new handwritten text along with comments. The resulting “patchwork,” which was to become the official newmanuscript version, turned out to be almost unrecog- nizable from the previous version, not seldom to the consterna- tion of the co-authors who had thought to be finally done. Not so fast… During the manuscript (re)writing process, Ernst was at the same time also the most critical judge imaginable who tried to uncover any hidden flaw or inconsistency, thereby continuously and often substantially improving the quality of the work. Hours of discus- sions starting during the daily group coffee breaks, which were always attended by the entire lab, and continuing in his office could be spent on how to best define for a manuscript in progress a new convention or nomenclature that was guaranteed to stand the test of time. What ultimately ended up as a very naturally flowing, easy-to-read paper was the result of hard work under- pinned by much thought and deliberation that casual readers would barely realize, which was precisely his goal. Only when he “had it” with a particular manuscript, he declared it ready for sub- mission to the designated journal. At least the effort that went into the manuscript writing did not go unnoticed with reviewers, who often had, if any, only minor comments. For my first Journal of the American Chemical Society communication I still remember a particularly succinct review that consisted of a single word, typed with a typewriter on the pink reviewer sheet: “Publish.” Although Ernst officially retired in 1998, it is still early to fully comprehend his legacy. In both his thinking and work, he was a pioneer who was often far ahead of his time. He, for sure, ranks at the pinnacle of Swiss scientists among the likes of Felix Bloch , Wolfgang Pauli , and even Albert Einstein . For those who did not have the fortune to interact with Ernst in person, a fitting comparison with another larger-than-life Swiss personality is perhaps Roger Federer . They both achieved in their chosen professions extraordinary success displaying enormous willpower with unparalleled elegance, while sharing an often humorous, down-to-earth personality inspiring people from all walks of life. For me personally, it was a privilege of a lifetime to work closely with Ernst onmany different and exciting research projects and to get to know himwell both as a scientist and as a person. He was for me the perfect boss, allowing me much intellectual free- domwhile always being willing to listen and offering advice when needed. The many interactions with him, as well as with the large number of outstanding coworkers he was able to attract to his lab, shapedme andmy thinking in important ways to this day, for which I am truly grateful. After leaving Zürich, it has always been one of my goals to convey some of the spirit I was able to experience in Ernst’s lab to the graduate students and postdocs inmy own research group.

I once gave a seminar at an international pharmaceutical compa- ny and afterward was given a tour of the NMR facility. A senior NMR scientist, who was close to retirement, came up tome and said, “I am so indebted to Richard Ernst. He doesn’t knowme, but without him I would not have had this wonderful job andmy career.” I later mentioned it to Richard. He did not say much, only a quick smile, like the one in the picture. On June 4, 2021, I lost, as didmany others, a dear mentor and colleague, and the global scientific community lost one of the great scientific minds of our time. The world also lost a kind and sincere human being. [An extended version of this article is available in “Highlights from

this month” online.] — Rafael Brüschweiler José-Luis R. Arrondo

José-Luis R. Arrondo (1953–2021) died during his sleep on the night of June 10–11, 2021. Born in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain), he developed his professional life at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of the Basque Country. He was a student of the well-remembered professor J.M. Macarulla and was trained in Ottawa, Canada with Henry H. Mantsch and in London, United Kingdomwith Dennis Chapman , two giants of membrane biophysics. A Professor of Biochem- istry andMolecular Biology, he held

José-Luis R. Arrondo

positions of great responsibility at the University of the Basque Country, including the Research Vice-Rectorate. He was the greatness in the shadow of the Biophysics Unit (CSIC-UPV/EHU joint center) and the Bizkaia Biophysics Foundation. Arrondo also heldmanagement positions at the Spanish Society for Bio- chemistry andMolecular Biology and at the Biophysical Society of Spain. The latter awarded him the prestigious Bruker Prize in 2010 for his work on infrared protein spectroscopy, a field in which he was a world-renowned pioneer and leader. His 1993 paper on “Quantitative studies of the structure of proteins in solution by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy” is a classic in the field, having been citedmore than 700 times. Those who knew himdescribe him as a person with a big heart, always in good temper and free of rancor. — Félix M. Goñi

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