Ramon Parés, professor of Microbiology, passes away

Ramon Parés i Farràs (1927-2018) graduated in Natural Sciences at the University of Barcelona in 1951 and held a doctorate in Sciences with an extraordinary award in the same University in 1956. He was scientific collaborator in the Spanish National Research Council (1962), professor of Microbiology at the University of Barcelona (1964) and dean of the Faculty of Biology (1968-1973). He published fourteen books and more than two hundred articles in different languages, mainly on microbial biochemistry and environmental microbiology, and history and philosophy of science. He was member of the Institute for Catalan Studies, numerary academician in the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia and president of the Catalan Society of Biology (1972-1975). His career was honoured with the Medal Narcís Monturiol for scientific and technological merit by the Generalitat de Catalunya (1986), honorary doctorate by Nancy University (France, 1987), and Gold Medal for scientific merit by the Barcelona City Council (1997).

In 1963, the first chair on Microbiology of science faculties in Spain was created in the UB, and was launched one year later. This chair, with a different aim from the studies on Microbiology taught at the faculties of Medicine, Pharmacy and Vet Science, offered a first global view of microorganisms, from a biological perspective, linked to the extraordinary development of biochemistry and genetics. Professor Parés won the first chair of Microbiology at the UB, and officially started the way to build the current Department of Microbioloigy, created in 1968.

In 2013, Ramon Parés was interviewed by Professor Joan Jofre in a video that goes over his career.