Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2008, 47, 7967
7967
Juan Antonio Delgado Oyague: A Tribute I would like to start by saying that it is precisely due to Dr. Juan Antonio Delgado Oyague that I am here today working for Repsol. Those of us who were close to Juan Antonio, colleagues at Repsol, remember him not only as a brilliant scientist, but more important for his charismatic figure, his enthusiasm for science, empathy, optimism, good sense of humor, and generosity of spirit; the fact is that Juan Antonio was a great human being. He always enjoyed his work and transmitted his enthusiasm to the rest of his co-workers in exploring the scientific knowledge, in all the projects where he was involved. He always spoke his mind but also was quite open minded on other opinions. His capacity to handle abstract issues in the field of the ideas, jointly with his ability to solve problems close to reality, allowed him to promote numerous Repsol projects; otherwise, it would have not been possible to accomplish them. He always was prepared to suggest new ideas which were very much appreciated in all research activities. Juan Antonio taught us that professionalism in any activity requires a dose of competence and enthusiasm and that you can obtain the first from study and assimilating colleague’s experience and the second from full dedication and always trying to do your best. Repsol always trusted his capacity to face new challenges, going beyond the frontiers of the internal knowledge; as in the case when Repsol started to undertake technological projects on polyolefins and synthetic rubber in 1982. In a very short time his research team achieved new polymerization catalysts, reactor polymerization modeling, scaling up the laboratory development to the commercial scale, and protecting research with numerous international patents. Throughout his extraordinarily diverse experience, Juan Antonio was also responsible for starting new developments in different areas like propylene oxide, sulfonates, olefins oligomerization, acrylates and methacrylates synthesis, additives for lubricants, etc.
During his career Juan Antonio published numerous scientific papers and patents, and he was generous with his time and knowledge, attributes very much appreciated by those of us who had the wonderful opportunity of being his colleague and friend. Juan Antonio was an accomplished mentor; in Repsol, he trained many researchers, and with his support and leadership, they obtained their doctoral theses. Juan Antonio contributed importantly to scientific understanding. He was more than just a distinguished researcher. He was a kind and good man and a brilliant scientist who will be deeply missed by his friends and colleagues. His scientific content was really outstanding, pioneering, original, and elegant. He was capable of being proud and modest simultaneously. An energetic man who demanded always. He was a role model, a man we truly admire. Juan Antonio expressed himself through simple, frequently used phrases like “the harder I work, the luckier I seem to be” and “when you stop learning, you start dying”; these phrases typified Juan Antonio’s own approach to science and to life. A man of great interests, he loved Oriental philosophy, trying to clarify its universal value and make it a part of humanity’s rich spiritual heritage in the modern age, and he firmly believed that Asian traditions hold much of great value for our modern society. Juan Antonio retired in 2001, and he is still remembered as one of the most prominent researchers with an outstanding contribution to the scientific development of the company. Up to the last day of his life Juan Antonio was a productive and original scientist and a cherished member of the Repsol community. Throughout his professional career, he was a gifted and highly popular researcher. On behalf of his colleagues and co-workers, I would like to express our gratitude to Juan Antonio: Thank you for your contribution to the Research and Development at Repsol and for all of the stepping stones you have fashioned and left behind for us to follow. It has been an honor to know you and to work with you.
Fernando Temprano Posada Director, Repsol Technology Centre, Mo´stoles 28931, Madrid, Spain;
[email protected] IE801517S
10.1021/ie801517s CCC: $40.75 2008 American Chemical Society Published on Web 10/29/2008
