Jean-Claude De Bremaecker (1923 – 2016)

Prof. Dr. Jean-Claude De Bremaecker, Associate Secretary General (1963 -- 1971) and Secretary General (1971 -- 1979) of IASPEI and IUGG Fellow, died 92 years old on 11 February 2016. Jean-Claude De Bremaecker was born on 2 September 1923 in Antwerp, Belgium. After serving in the Belgian Army during World War II, he received a Master of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Leuven, Belgium in 1948. In the same year, he moved for further studies to USA and received a Master of Science in Geology from the Louisiana State University in 1950 and a PhD in Geophysics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1952 with a thesis on Pn amplitudes at regional distances.During his long career, he worked as

During his long career, he worked as senior researcher in Congo and as postdoc in Columbia and at Harvard. Since 1959 and until his retirement, he was affiliated with Rice University in Houston, Texas, as Professor for Geophysics. In 1966, he was also research associate at the University of California, Berkeley; in 1977, he was visiting member of the University of Texas, Austin, and in 1980 -- 1981, he was visiting professor at the University of Paris. In 1985, he published his often-cited textbook "Geophysics, the Earth's Interior", which was reprinted in 1991.

Jean-Claude De Bremaecker is remembered as a cheerful character, full of wit and excellent company, who worked hard for the Association during sixteen years as Associate Secretary-General and later as Secretary-General.

J. Schweitzer based on information received from Robin Adams, who followed Jean-Claude De Bremaecker as IASPEI Secretary General and several Internet sources.