Remembering:Argentine SETI pioneer Dr. Fernando "Raśl" Colomb died on May 3, 2008, due to a brain tumor.
Born in 1939, Raśl graduated in physics from the University of Buenos Aires (1965), he was one of the first graduate students at the Argentine Institute of Radioastronomy that was founded in 1966. Research Assistant at the National Radioastronomy Observatory, USA (1966-1968), PhD in Physics from the University of La Plata, Argentina (1970), Member of CONICET (1971-1995); J.S. Guggenheim Fellowship New York (1977-1978), Director of the Argentine Institute for Radioastronomy (1984-1995); President of the Argentine Astronomical Society (1978-1981); President of the Directory Board of the "El Leoncito" National Astronomical Complex (1984-1989), President of IAU Commission 51: Bioastronomy (1994-1997); Member of Directory Board of the National Commission of Space Activities (1993- present) and PI of Satellite Missions SAC-C and SAC-D/Aquarius.
In 1986 we initiated SETI observations using one of the two 30-m antennas of the Argentine Institute for Radioastronomy (IAR). In 1989, as IAR's director he signed an agreement with The Planetary Society, allowing us to send two argentine engineers to Harvard University to duplicate Paul Horowitz's META system. In 1990 we performed the first southern hemisphere full-sky survey with 0.05 Hz resolution. He was active in SETI research until 1994 when he left IAR to start working full time at the National Commission of Space Activities.
We all will miss him.
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