A tribute to Prof R George Michael

Sudden demise of Prof R George Michael, former Pro Vice-Chancellor and Acting Vice-Chancellor, NEHU Shillong
A tribute to Prof R George Michael

Sudden demise of Prof R George Michael, former Pro Vice-Chancellor and Acting Vice-Chancellor, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, at Madurai on May 15 was shocking to all of his students as just two days prior to his death, he was seen extremely joyous to meet one of his former students, including me, which was widely shared on social media.

Prof Michael, the founder Head of the Department of Zoology, which was established in 1974, as well as the first Dean of the School of Life Sciences, NEHU was a noted researcher in the subject field of freshwater ecology, he was one of the pioneers in the study of limnology in general, and the planktonic group Cladocera, in particular, in India. He also served as a member of an international expert team to the East African country of Malawi. Besides his other publications, he also authored the Indian Cladocera in the Fauna of India series published in 1988 by the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. Not only an accomplished scientist, he was also an excellent teacher with a philosophical bent of mind, who could take his teaching to an elevated plane that reflected his deep understanding of the subject.

However, above all these academic achievements, perhaps the most important facet of Prof. Michael included the qualities of compassion, patience and tolerance. Treating everybody around him with dignity – including his numerous students and research scholars, he was always ready to give a patient hearing to what they wanted to say. He had the broadness of mind to acknowledge and show respect to the point of view of others.On his memorial service today, we pray the Almighty for his noble soul to rest in peace!

Abhik Gupta

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