In memory of Eric Grimm
Dear Colleagues,
AmQua mourns the passing of Dr. Eric Christopher Grimm, at the untimely age of 69. Eric was a past President of AmQua (2006-2008), recipient of AmQua’s Distinguished Career Award in 2015, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In Eric’s life, science and service were closely intertwined. As an unparalleled palynologist and field scientist, he led a series of foundational research papers, beginning with his Big Woods dissertation research at the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Dr. Ed Cushing, and continuing with iconic records at Lake Tulane, Kettle Lake, Crystal Lake, and other sites. As a pioneer in computation and open data systems, Eric singlehandedly wrote the Tilia software that is still the community standard for palynological data visualizations and built the data model for the continental pollen databases, that now have evolved to the international, open, and community-curated Neotoma Paleoecology Database, a resource for all. Eric was modest, kind, and extraordinarily generous with his time, as he helped and trained the next generations of palynologists and paleoecologists. He will be missed by us all.
To leave a note for Eric’s family, go here. Eric’s family has requested that donations in Eric’s memory be given to AmQua, to support the training and development of the next generation of Quaternary scientists.