Jan E.R. Friters
(1947 - 2022)
Wageningen University and Research
Jan E.R. Frijters (1947 – 2022)
We recently heard the sad news that Jan E.R. Frijters passed away on 16 May 2022. The work Jan did for his PhD already had a major impact in the field of sensory evaluation of food, as he explained the differences in the cognitive processes underlying triangular and 3-AFC testing. His subsequent work focused on developing and validating methods of measuring perceived intensity, which he used to investigate interactions in mixtures of similar or dissimilar tasting substances and in mixtures of odorants. More recently, he critically evaluated the use of dog scent lineups in criminal cases, leading to the reopening of lawsuits and the review of the admissibility of such tests as evidence in the Dutch legal system.
With the insights Jan provided in the mechanisms at work when using specific methods, he helped improve the quality of measurements in chemosensory perception and the validity of the outcomes.
Egon Peter Köster
(1931 - 2022)
ECRO Honorary Member
Professor Emeritus
University of Utrecht
ECRO mourns the loss of its honorary member EP Köster
It is with great sadness that we have to inform the ECRO community about the passing of our member and dear friend Egon Peter (EP) Köster. EP was a Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Utrecht between 1976 and 1997 and his primary research focused on perception psychology with a strong emphasis on smell sensation. EP Köster was the founder and long-time Editor in Chief of the Journal Chemical Senses and a co-founding member of ECRO, of which he is an Honorary Member.
Apart from fundamental science he also pursued interests in applied research. He founded the ergonomics research group at the University of Utrecht but also started a group on the sensory analysis and evaluation of food. For his outstanding contributions to these fields, he became an advisor to major food industries in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States.
Gordon Murray Shepherd
(1933 - 2022)
Professor Emeritus
Yale School of Medicine
In Memoriam - Gordon M. Shepherd
It is with great sadness that we have to inform you that Gordon M. Shepherd passed away on June 9, 2022. Gordon was a pioneer in neuroscience with a special interest in signal processing by microcircuits in the olfactory bulb and beyond. His seminal work laid the foundation for numerous directions in olfactory research and has significantly shaped our understanding of how odor information is processed in the brain. His legacy will live on in the work of his friends, colleagues, coworkers, and students, who were influenced by his visionary foresight.
We were fortunate to last welcome Gordon Shepherd at the ECRO 2018 Meeting, where he reflected on his personal scientific journey and gave a historical account on the big breakthroughs and developments in the field.
Our community lost one of its early members recently. George Dodd joined ECRO in 1971 shortly after the organisation was formed. He was elected General Secretary of ECRO in 1974 and helped to organise the ECRO congress in Reading, UK in 1976.
He was interested in perfumes as a teenager and went on to study Chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin with research projects on molecules found in essential oils. He then began research on small molecules binding to proteins at the University of Oxford and gained a D.Phil (Ph.D) under the supervision of Sir George Radda, publishing a seminal paper in 1969 determining the rate of allosteric transition in the regulatory enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase by a method new in the 1960s, the fluorescence of an environmentally sensitive extrinsic probe. After working at Unilever in the Molecular Biophysics Research Group for three years, he joined the University of Warwick, UK, in 1971, founding the Warwick Olfactory Research Group, pioneering research on the molecular mechanisms involved in smell, olfactory physiology, the psychology of smell as well as artificial noses.
I joined his group in 1976, was enthused with his love of the world of smell and inspired by him, worked on what would be the initial concepts of an artificial nose – now known as electronic noses. A keen master perfumer as well as an entrepreneur, he enjoyed working to create unique fragrances, opening a perfume studio “Craft Perfumes” in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1978. He collaborated with Steve Van Toller – a psychologist and former president of ECRO who was also at Warwick, publishing a book The Psychology and Biology of Perfumery (eds) Steve Van Toller & George H Dodd; Chapman and Hall; 1988.
He left the University of Warwick in 1994, expanded into the realms of personal perfumes and was a founding director of a smell biotechnology company – Kiotech int plc. He moved to the highlands of Scotland opening “The Perfume Studio”, continuing to work with the smell research group at the University of Warwick. He was one of the founding Directors of Scent & Aroma Technology Systems Limited (Aroma Academy (www.aroma-academy.co.uk) and Perfume Academy (www.perfume-academy.com)).
A keen educator, he developed several aroma training kits, including a Wine Aroma Kit, Whisky Aroma Kit, Gin Aroma Kit, Bourbon Aroma Kit and a Rum Aroma Kit. Members of our community who attended ECRO 2011 in Manchester, UK will have been entertained by the Whisky tasting workshop that he gave us. Full of a gazillion eccentric ideas, he was always fascinating to listen to - inspiring many others to enter into the world of smell. We have lost a dear colleague.
Krishna Persaud
ECRO mourns André Holley
André Holley, Professor Emeritus at the Claude Bernard University (Lyon, France) and ECRO Honorary Member, recently passed away. André had important responsibilities in ECRO : co-opted member of the Board (1976-1978), General Secretary (1978-1982), vice-President (1982-1986), and then President (1986-1990). His deep involvement in promoting ECRO is impressive. Together with Prof. Patrick Mac Leod, he promoted basic research in Olfaction in France. He made outstanding scientific contributions in this area and in Cognitive Sciences. He was a strong reference for a whole generation of researchers. Many of his past students are now active leaders in these scientific domains. André also wrote several books on smell and taste targeting the general public. As philosopher and artist, he also expressed a great humanity.
ECRO mourns Tom Scott
On May 15th, 2017 Tom Scott passed away due to the effects of a heart attack. Tom was President of the Association of Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) (1997-1998) and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB, 2000-2001) and was an editorial board member for the journals Neurobiology, Nutrition and Acta Physiologica Hungarica. His research was bolstered by sabbatical leaves with Edmund Rolls in Oxford, UK, Yutaka Oomura in Okazaki, Japan and Takashi Yamamoto in Osaka, Japan.
ECRO mourns Martine Cattarelli
Dr Martine Cattarelli (France) passed away in June 2016. Martine has been a very active member since the beginning of ECRO . As General Secretary (she has left in 2002) she also largely contributed to the success of our Association. Her scientific contributions significantly improved our understanding of the physiological basis of the olfactory memory, the odor-taste aversion congruence and the role of the piriform cortex. She will be sorely missed by the community.
ECRO mourns Kjell Døving
We are sorry to inform the ECRO community that Professor Kjell Døving (Oslo University), passed away last February. Since the beginning of ECRO in the 70’, Kjell was a strong active supporter of our organization and was honorary member since many years. Kjell made major scientific contributions to our knowledge in Olfaction in mammals and fishes.
ECRO mourns Tom Getchell
The ECRO board is saddened by the news that Dr. Tom Getchell has passed away in his sleep. Tom was a strong supporter of the chemosensory community.
Prof. Dr. Tim McClintock provided the following information:
"The Department of Physiology in the College of Medicine at University of Kentucky is establishing the Thomas V. Getchell, PhD. Memorial Award. This award will be used to support an annual travel stipend for a student participating in the Grant Writing Workshop. Dr. Getchell founded the Grant Writing Workshop in 2005 with a vision to provide proactive, individualized mentoring to graduate students, MD/PhD students and postdoctoral trainees to further their training in pragmatic grantsmanship, increase their success rate in obtaining fellowship grants, and enhance their research careers. Dr. Getchell continually challenged students to do excellent work and infused the workshop with humor through the retelling of his own personal anecdotes. He treated students with the utmost respect, exemplified by his signature weekly communiques which all began "Dear Colleagues." To date, the trainees have earned over $2.4 million dollars in fellowship funding as a result of Dr. Getchell’s efforts."
ECRO mourns Kunio Yamazaki
Dr. Kunio Yamazaki, best known for his work on odor types - genetically-determined body odors conferring individual identity, died with no warning from a heart attack on April 11, 2013. Local services were held in Philadelphia on April 15, 2013. There has been a celebration of Kunio's life at the Monell Center on the afternoon and evening of October 10, 2013.