In Memoriam: Gheorghe Racoviţă (1940-2015)

• Published in: International journal of speleology Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 101 - 102
• Main Authors: Onac, Bogdan P, Murariu, Dumitru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bologna University of South Florida Board of Trustees, a public body corporate, having locations in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota 01.01.2016; University of South Florida Libraries
• Subjects: Gheorghe Racoviţă; In memoriam
• ISSN: 0392-6672; 1827-806X
• DOI: 10.5038/1827-806X.45.1.1974

Gheorghe Racovita, an eminent Romanian biospeleologist, died on Dec 1, 2015, at the age of 75. His passing leaves many in the national and international speleological community reflecting on his significant contributions to the discipline and the various ways he impacted the careers of those who knew him. Racovita was a Senior Scientist at the "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology in Cluj-Napoca, where he joined the research group in 1963. He also held an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Racovita was truly extraordinary -- he was revered by generations of scientists and colleagues worldwide, and also by the eclectic group of biologists, geologists, geographers, paleontologists, and others that make up the Speleological Institute.