In Memoriam

The ESR Board of Directors is extremely saddened at the loss of Prof. Dr. Natalia Rotaru in autumn 2020. Natalia was the Chair of Radiology at the “Nicolae Testemiţanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Chisinau, Moldova. A friend to many international colleagues and the European Society of Radiology, Natalia was a keen traveller and attended dozens of professional conferences throughout her career. She was also the recipient of a number of national and international awards.

Natalia was a committed physician and did not shy away from her responsibilities, even when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Europe. Her contraction of the virus during her clinical duties and her untimely death at the age of 57 thereafter in autumn 2020, is a mark of her dedication to patient care and the profession she worked in. This dedication is a fine example of the qualities that we should look for in radiology. She will be missed by our community.

Full obituary

The ESR is sad to report that Professor Friedrich Olbert, a pioneer of interventional radiology and recipient of the EAR’s Boris Rajewski medal in 2000, passed away on April 6, 2019, in his 99^th year of life. 

Prof. Olbert was one of the founders of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) and acted as its first Meeting President in 1985. The joint annual meeting of the German, Austrian and Swiss IR societies is named in honour of his achievements: ‘Interventionell Radiologisches Olbert-Symposium (IROS)’.

 Prof. Olbert was an expert on classical music, played the violin and loved to visit the Vienna concert halls and operas. He leaves behind his wife, Blanka, who throughout his career helped him with his numerous activities.

 He will be dearly missed by his colleagues and friends.

Obituary composed by Professor Johannes Lammer

It is with deep sadness that the ESR Board of Directors and ESR staff announces the passing of former RSNA Director of Scientific Meetings and Educational Materials, George Schuyler, at the age of 89.

Schuyler played a crucial role in the evolution of the modern RSNA, including masterminding the move to McCormick Place, and his priceless contribution was justly recognised with the society’s Gold Medal in 1988. He also played a huge part in establishing the structure of the ECR under the leadership of Prof. Josef Lissner and later Prof. Albert Baert. His tireless hard work, famous efficiency and ingenuity were recognised by the ESR with the presentation of a special Distinguished Service Award at ECR 2004.  

The ESR would like to pass on our most heartfelt condolences to all his friends and family. He will be sorely missed by us all.

The ESR Board of Directors and the entire ESR staff are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved colleague and friend Prof. Helen Carty passed away on Sunday, April 23, at the age of 72.

Prof. Carty was a tremendously popular figure throughout the radiological community and a great inspiration to many. She was a hugely admired paediatric radiologist, as well as a former ECR President (2004) and ESR Gold Medallist (2009). Although she spent the majority of her career in the UK, her heart always remained in Ireland, the country of her birth.

She will be remembered fondly by all of us.

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Sir Peter Mansfield, the Nobel Prize winning physicist and MRI pioneer, at the age of 83. One of the most recognised names in radiology, Sir Peter was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 for his research which led to the development of MRI. His scientific contributions changed the face of medical imaging and he will always be remembered with great affection by the entire radiological community.

It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of Doctor Harvey L. Neiman, who passed away on June 5, 2014 at the age of 71 after suffering from long-term illness.

A former executive director and chief executive officer of the American College of Radiology (ACR), Dr. Neiman was dedicated to improving patient care, and under his leadership the ACR became one of the largest and most influential medical specialty societies in North America.  He was a member of the ACR for nearly 40 years.

Dr. Neiman was at the forefront the ACR’s initiatives to promote quality of care and safety. He led the ACR as it co-founded the Image Wisely and Image Gently radiation safety campaigns. He also helped create the ACR Education Center, which trains physicians in advanced medical imaging and image-guided techniques. The Radiology Leadership Institute is another initiative that owes much to the work of Dr. Neiman, as he played a key role in its foundation.

When the Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed with the loss of its world-renowned radiologic pathology correlation course, Dr. Neiman headed the creation of the American Institute for Radiologic Pathology, which preserves the vital knowledge and training this course provided.

In recognition of his dedication and commitment, Dr. Neiman received a number of awards and honours throughout his career, including gold medals from the ACR and the Radiological Society of North America, the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound and the International Society of Radiology’s prestigious Béclère Medal.

Dr. Neiman is survived by his wife, Ellen; two daughters, Jennifer and Hilary; and his grandson, William.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the loss of renowned oncologist Professor Maurice Tubiana, who passed away on September 24 at the age of 93.

Prof. Tubiana was a major figure in cancer therapy and he made significant contributions to the field of cancer research, especially in the areas of radiotherapy of lymphoma and thyroid carcinoma, and the use of nuclear medicine in radiobiology. As a physician, biologist and radiobiologist, he was also instrumental in developing radiotherapy and radioprotection.

Born in Algeria in 1920, Prof. Tubiana earned his medical degree in Paris in 1945 and later obtained a PhD in physics. He began working at the Gustave Roussy Institute in 1951 and went on to become head of the radiation department in 1959, director of research in 1978 and director general of the Institute from 1982 to 1989.

Apart from his clinical research, Prof. Tubiana was also a respected leader in the field of oncology and he held a number of high level positions during his career.  He was a member of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) Scientific Board from 1976 to 1981, and he represented France on the IARC Governing Council from 1989 to 1998; serving as vice-chair in 1993. In addition, he worked as consultant for the WHO and the International Atomic Agency.  At a national level he served as president of the French Ministry of Health’s Cancer Commission from 1975 to 1981 and from 1988 to1994.

Prof. Tubiana was widely respected for his work and research. He received honorary doctorates and membership from many universities and scientific academies around the world, and his passion and curiosity for medicine will be missed by his friends and peers.

It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of Dr. Robert E. Steiner, professor emeritus of diagnostic radiology at the University of London, who passed away peacefully on September 12 at the age of 95.

A highly respected radiologist, Dr. Steiner had a long and distinguished career and helped bring the fields of radiology and cardiology closer together. He also made major contributions to the field of magnetic resonance imaging.

Born in Prague in 1918, Dr. Steiner later moved to Austria, where he began his medical studies at the University of Vienna in 1935. In 1938 he left for Dublin, Ireland where he completed his studies at University College Dublin, graduating in 1941. He began his medical career with Emergency Medical Services in the United Kingdom, where he served from 1941 to 1945. His radiological training began at the United Sheffield Hospitals in 1944 and continued until 1950. From 1950 to 1983 he worked in the department of diagnostic radiology at Hammersmith Hospital, London. He began as deputy director and then became director when he was appointed the University of London’s first professor of diagnostic radiology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital. He retired in 1983, but continued to work part-time in the MRI unit which has since been renamed in his honour.  He also served as president of the Royal College of Radiologists, from 1977 to 1980, and the British Institute of Radiology, from 1973 to 1974.

For his dedicated work in cardiac and pulmonary radiology he received the Boris Rajewsky Medal from the European Association of Radiology (EAR) and the Gold Medal of the European Congress of Radiology and the EAR.

It is with sadness that we report that Professor Erkki L. M. Koivisto, former president of the European Society of Radiology’s forerunner, the European Association of Radiology, passed away on February 27, at the age of 85.

Koivisto was a great servant of European radiology, described by colleagues as a luminary in Finnish radiology and a true believer in the European community of radiology. He distinguished himself as a true leader throughout his career, most notably through various presidencies, such as those of the Radiological Society of Finland (1986–88), the European Association of Radiology (1981–83), the Scandinavian Radiological Society (1991) and the 49th Scandinavian Congress of Radiology (1991).

He received numerous honours in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of radiology, including the Carl Wegelius Medal of the Radiological Society of Finland (1982), the Silver Medal of the Radiological Society of Finland (1987), the Boris Rajewsky Medal of the European Association of Radiology (1989), the Silver Medal of the Radiological Society of Finland (1992), and the First Class Order of the White Rose of Finland (1989).

The ESR is sad to announce that Prof. Serban Alexandru Georgescu passed away on August 16 after a long battle with pulmonary cancer.

Professor Georgescu was an admired colleague, a hugely respected teacher and a dedicated servant of radiology in Romania and beyond, who served as President of the Romanian Society of Radiology and Medical Imaging from 1996 to 2000. As an author and co-author of 21 books and 158 articles in Romanian and foreign journals he made an enormous contribution to the development of his fellow radiologists, and as the credited developer of six new radiological techniques in Romania in various fields he helped greatly to further the specialty itself. Among many other honours he was awarded the ‘Ordre National du Merite’ by the President of France in 1998 and ‘Les Palmes Academiques’ by the French Government in 1999.

The ESR is sad to report that Dr. William Ross, a widely admired and respected colleague, passed away on March 15 after a short illness.

William Ross served his profession in various capacities throughout his career, as a house officer after qualifying from Durham, then in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and later as head of radiotherapy at Newcastle General Hospital. Hardworking, hugely efficient, and committed to his specialty, he served as president of the Royal College of Radiologists during 1983-86, later becoming secretary to the Conference of Medical Royal Colleges. He spent 14 years as treasurer of the European Association of Radiology (EAR), from 1989 to 2003, and was awarded the EAR’s Boris Rajewsky Medal in 1993.