May 31st, 2010

Dr. Antonio Cruzado, the head of the Oceanography Lab at CEAB-CSIC, starts a new episode in his career

On May 28th, the transition of Dr Antonio Cruzado from the public sector (CSIC) to the private sector (Oceans Catalonia Int. SL) was celebrated at CEAB-CSIC. For several decades he was a civil servant at CSIC and head of the Oceanography Lab in Blanes. Dr Zoila Velásquez that was a member at the Oceanography Lab for many years was also honored the same day. She has joined Oceans Cat Int.

For Dr. Hernán Garcia (NOAA, USA), a former post-doctoral student of Dr. Cruzado, “Antonio redefines the concept of retirement". "He has been able to turn a passive retirement into an active retirement". Dr García adds: "Besides, for the time I have known him, he has tried to teach me how to become a better scientist and a better person. That's the signal of his generosity that I most appreciate ". I think these feelings are shared by most of his students throughout his successful career.

For Prof. Tarzan Legovic, who spent a sabbatic year at the Ocean Lab "Antonio has been an always fresh source of inspiration for scientific achievement. Although a healthy sceptic of whether things would work,
he has been always ready to try them out. Besides, he has felt at home in the lab, ready to assemble
new instruments and new experiments to test ideas. Definitively, Antonio is and has been a stronghold in turbulent times".

In the farewell speech of Dr. Cruzado, he argued that his retirement will unfortunately produce a “reduction of the CEAB’s diversity” (since most of scientists at CEAB are biologists) that is so necessary to achieve a comprehensive view of the functioning of the marine environment.

Big challenges await Dr Cruzado and Dra Velasquez in their new project. Fortunately for them, while many private enterprises in Spain have been adversely affected by the economic crisis, some private companies involved in environmental studies have seen increased sales and services.

Big challenges also await some of us who have been recipients of their great ideas regarding on how to lead oceanographic research integrating field observations with analyses and numerical modeling.

Many who know Dr Cruzado will agree with me about the fact that with his retirement, the CEAB has lost not only a great oceanographer but also has lost a great critic who often breaks traditional schemes with original and provocative arguments.

Good luck and successes we wish to Dr Cruzado and Dra Velásquez in the new episode of their careers.

Nixon Bahamon