On April 2nd, Julio Casado Linarejos, Professor of Physical Chemistry, passed away. Born in Palencia in 1939, he took his doctor's degree in Chemistry at the University of Valladolid in 1965 and then did a postdoctoral stay with Prof. Børge Bak at the University of Copenhagen on Microwave Spectroscopy. Upon his return, and already as an Assistant Professor at the University of Valladolid, he established the first microwave laboratory in Spain. In 1973, at the age of 34, he was appointed Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Santiago de Compostela, where he worked for more than a decade, leaving an indelible mark, both in the scientific and academic fields, creating a research group in chemical kinetics of international prestige. During his time at Santiago University, he also occupied the positions of Vice-Rector and Director of ICE (Institute of Education Sciences). Later he moved to the University of Salamanca, where he created a research group on the mechanisms of formation of bioactive chemical compounds. He received the Research Medal of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) in 1992 and the Aldrich Química Research Prize. He was a member of the RSEQ Governing Board, of the National Research Evaluation Commission (CNEAI) and directed the Spanish National Agency for Evaluation and Foresight (ANEP) during the period 1996-2000.
This native of Palencia, Galician by adoption and citizen of the world, who had the same sympathy for people of all social classes and all political ideas, left a deep mark on each person who was fortunate enough to relate to him. And that in all the moments and activities of his life. His students at university considered him to be one of the best teachers, and even those students who found the discipline of physical chemistry quite difficult to assimilate recognized his great dedication to the careful and enjoyable preparation of their classes. Thanks to his extensive knowledge in all areas, his lectures were truly masterful and surprised to cite classics such as Cicero or Socrates and his admired Ortega, but they also included philosophers, scientists, writers, historians, etc. who came to bring both rigour and depth, as well as freshness and amenity to his exhibitions. His special characteristic as a great conversationalist kept her until the end, even when the illness immobilized her within the four walls of his floor, completely full of books. "It was very nice to meet him," wrote a palliative care doctor who had treated him in recent months. And that was the feeling one had when one had just spoken to him: a person very easy to love, but very difficult to forget. "One of the most impressive achievements of the human mind has been to know what we do not see; both in the infinitely small and the infinitely large realm," said Professor Casado in one of his lectures on Chemistry and the Life Sciences just a decade ago. And he added Ortega's phrase"...life is a chain chemical process, each of whose reactions inevitably triggers the next one until it goes through the predetermined and fatal series. From the very first moment, like a motive in its trajectory, life is launched to its consummation... It is not possible to vary the inexorable process: it is only possible to artificially slow it down, to make every reaction take longer to take place..." And it seems as if in those words he was predicting what he was going to be doing during his last years in his continuous personal war with the disease, until he placidly, as if he were entering into a dream, let the kinetics totally exhaust his reagents and reach its end. Behind it is a long life of dedication and training of several generations of chemists who will never forget everything they learned, both scientifically and humanly, from this great teacher and professor, who never gave up on doing quality science and research, even when the means were very scarce; as well as transmitting his commitment to thoroughness and good work in all the tasks of life. And he also leaves the trail of what a deep friendship means to all who came to know him. May his soul rest in peace.