Prof. Yoav Waisel passed away on February 24 2010, 79 years old

Yoav was a well-known and loved person in Israel, his home country and among his peers worldwide. He was one of Israel’s foremost pioneering plant ecologists, starting his academic career as a student at the Hebrew University and continuing as a faculty member since the beginning of Tel-Aviv University. At Tel Aviv University, he had a thriving laboratory that “produced” dozens of MSc's and PhD's. Yoav was not only an academic, but he also paid much attention to outreach to the general public.

Yoav produced some 10 books and some 300 scientific papers. His research interests were widely spread from his early love of plant ecology and eco-physiology, to later interests in allergy and aerobiology which was partly driven by his own struggle with asthma since childhood. His book "Biology of Halophytes" was and still is a major textbook on that subject.

Yoav was the driving force behind the construction of the Sarah Racine Root Laboratory; the only aeroponic root research facility of its kind in the world, which drew interests from scientists and the public media. He was the senior editor of the world-famous book “Plant Roots: The Hidden Half”, which was continuously upgraded through 3 editions. This wide-scope treatise, devoted to all aspects of root biology and research, has been an essential resource for root scientists and students for the last two decades. In this editorial capacity he insisted that the contributors will not only cover the topic of their assigned chapter but will also point at future directions of the research in that area. He just signed a contract at the request of the publisher, a week before his death, to begin working on its 4th edition.

Yoav was active in a number of EU COST Actions, among them E038 "Woody Root Processes", at which he was a leading speaker and was elected to deliver the closing talk of its meetings from a broad perspective of the subject. He was also very active in the ISRR (International Society of Root Research) and considered it an important forum for advancement of the scientific aspects in this field.

Yoav retired “officially” over 10 years ago, but there was not a day that one would not see him in his office at Tel Aviv University... including weekends. He had numerous co-operations with other faculty members, and just “could not afford” not to be involved in University matters. At the same time, Yoav was a devoted family person, and often talked about his wife Susa, his daughter Tali and his son Shai, and, of course, the grandchildren, with whom he spent much “quality time”.

He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Prof. Amram Eshel
Tel-Aviv University
Tel-Aviv, Israel