The master and the pupil: two close friends, two great plant physiologists

Abstract

The Master and the Pupil: Two close friends, two great plant physiologists With great sadness we inform the scientific community of the deaths of Dr. Paulo de Tarso Alvim, on February 18 from nephrological problems, and Prof. Moacyr Maestri, two days later, from cardiological complications. Master and pupil at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Studies (ESAV, currently Federal University of Viçosa-UFV, Brazil), where they graduated in Agricultural Sciences in 1940 and 1948 respectively, Alvim was born in Ubá (MG) and Maestri in Santa Teresa (ES). During this time they became close friends, notwithstanding their opposite personalities: Alvim, quite expansive and warm whilst Maestri timid or even shy. This friendship lasted until the end of their lives. Alvim completed his PhD in 1948 at Cornell University, NY, when he presented the thesis "Studies on mechanisms of stomatal behavior", an outstanding contribution for the time. With the thesis "Structural and functional effects of endothall on plants", Maestri concluded his PhD in 1967 at the University of California, Davis. According to contacts between Alvim and Davis' lecturer-friends, Maestri was considered bright during his course, a condition which persisted for life. He then became, in Alvim's words "the best scholar of Plant Physiology in all Latin America, in the decades 70 and 80 of the last century".