Rafael Montemayor

Rafael Montemayor passed away at the age of 67 victim of leukemia. He was born in Mendoza, Argentina, where he graduated as electrical engineer. He started to study for an M.Sc. in physics in Santiago de Chile, but had to leave when the Allende government was overthrown by the military. He continued his studies in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where he obtained his Ph.D. in Physics in 1979. He joined UNAM’s faculty and, when democracy returned to Argentina, became a member of the prestigious Balseiro Institute jointly run by the National University of Cuyo and the National Atomic Energy Commission. He continued collaborating with Mexican colleagues and spent a sabbatical back in Mexico. His scientific production is reflected in 66 papers on theoretical high energy physics and gravitation and the supervision of 21 M.Sc. and 4 Ph.D. theses. Rafael will always be remembered as a principled modest man of great integrity, a beloved teacher and a most inspiring mentor to several members of a generation of theoretical physicists from Latin America and will be greatly missed.

Horacio Casini (Instituto Balseiro, University of Cuyo)
Cesar Fosco (Instituto Balseiro, University of Cuyo)
José Edelstein (University of Santiago de Compostela)
Juan Maldacena (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton)
Jorge Pullin (Louisiana State University)