Dr. Hugo G. Fournier (Farciennes, Belgium, September 21, 1918 – Mendoza, Argentina, May 26, 2009)
The Argentine Belgian geophysicist Dr. Hugo G. Fournier passed away at the age of 90, in the city of Mendoza, Argentina where he and his wife -Therese Bonbled- have lived for over 20 years. His main scientific interest was the magnetotelluric method which he introduced in Argentina. He also collaborated with the Antarctic Institute of Argentina, and published several papers about permafrost of the Antarctic Peninsula and the saline layer below permafrost in particular. In 1987 he was the Argentine delegate to the constitutive assembly of IPA, Ottawa, Canada.
Between 1983 and 1989 the five “Actas Geocriogénicas” were edited at the IANIGLA in Mendoza, containing publications about different topics attached with the Geocryology of the Central Andes, where Hugo helped to investigate structure and thickness of rockglaciers.
His colleagues will always remember him as a good collaborator of the Argentine Permafrost Association for his innovative ideas and continuous effort in research until his death.
Enrique Borzotta and Dario Trombotto
Asociación Argentina y Sudamericana de Permafrost
Dr. Hugo Fournier at the first IPA Council meeting in Ottawa (fifth from the left)