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In memoriam P.A.A. Loof
At the age of 96, drs. Piet A.A. Loof passed away, and with his passing we lost an eminent nematode taxonomist. He started his career in 1955 at the Laboratory of Nematology in Wageningen (The Netherlands). Piet Loof had an exceptionally good, almost photographic, memory and in his working life this resulted (among other things) in a broad collection of articles covering taxonomic issues ranging from basal Enoplida to the most distal Tylenchida, and virtually everything in between.
During his time in the Laboratory of Nematology, Piet Loof also built a remarkably
versatile nematode collection that comprised - next to an extensive type collection - slides with over 200,000 individually identified and categorised nematodes. While one-third of this collection originated from The Netherlands, the large remaining part was brought together from all over the world, from Iran to Costa Rica, and from Uruguay to New Zealand. The Loof nematode collection is still accessible for research purposes as it is part of the NRC Nematology (NVWA, Wageningen).
In addition to this, Piet Loof initiated a database in which he registered all taxonomic changes (a great help for almost any taxonomic paper), and a literature collection that is globally one of the largest of its kind (nowadays largely digitised and accessible via the library of Wageningen University). In 1988, he formally retired, but in fact he continued to work and publish at full speed. This point illustrates another characteristic of Piet Loof: he was passionate about his work. Loof’s expertise and knowledge was internationally acknowledged, and in 1994 he became Fellow of the European Society of Nematologists.
Piet Loof, widower of Alie Loof-Mastenbroek, had six children, and we wish them all the best in good memory of their father.
versatile nematode collection that comprised - next to an extensive type collection - slides with over 200,000 individually identified and categorised nematodes. While one-third of this collection originated from The Netherlands, the large remaining part was brought together from all over the world, from Iran to Costa Rica, and from Uruguay to New Zealand. The Loof nematode collection is still accessible for research purposes as it is part of the NRC Nematology (NVWA, Wageningen).
In addition to this, Piet Loof initiated a database in which he registered all taxonomic changes (a great help for almost any taxonomic paper), and a literature collection that is globally one of the largest of its kind (nowadays largely digitised and accessible via the library of Wageningen University). In 1988, he formally retired, but in fact he continued to work and publish at full speed. This point illustrates another characteristic of Piet Loof: he was passionate about his work. Loof’s expertise and knowledge was internationally acknowledged, and in 1994 he became Fellow of the European Society of Nematologists.
Piet Loof, widower of Alie Loof-Mastenbroek, had six children, and we wish them all the best in good memory of their father.