The passing away of Richard Ector Peter has brought a glorious era to an abrupt end. The entire fraternity of comparative endocrinologists, around the world, will mourn his loss. The sad new was broken to the members of ISCE during the Santiniketan meeting held in November 2007. The members offered heard felt tributes and reflected on his monumental contributions to the field of fish endocrinology.

His research biography, spanning over about 4 decades, is a saga of amazing contributions that cast a spell on out

Prof. Richard E Peter
(1943-2007)

generations of fish endocrinologists. Intensely analytical, hard headed to the core, and unparalleled capabilities of inspired thinking are only some aspects of his genius. In a way he began where E. Scharrer left of - at the nucleus preopticus of the teleost, Phoxinus, which might be considered at the very conception of the science of neuroendrocrinology. One of the earliest papers on 'Some afferent pathways to the preoptic nucleus of the goldfish', which he coauthored with Gorbman in 1968, did harbinger a scientific revolutions of sorts. From this day onwards, what he wrote was to become a journey into the uncharted area of fish brain, with new insights at turn of every page.