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Dr. Ivan Rubeška
Spectrochimica Acta Part B 56 Ž2001. 1797᎐1798
Obituary
Dr. Ivan Rubeska ˇ
Ivan Rubeska ˇ
Atomic spectroscopy lost an early pioneer when Ivan Rubeska ˇ died in June of this year in Prague. He published in atomic absorption first in 1963 and in 1967 co-authored with Bedrich ˇ Moldan a book ‘Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry’ in the Czech language. It was translated into English in 1969. He organized and chaired the first international atomic absorption conference in 1967, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He organized and led several other major atomic spectroscopy meetings. He published several other books in spectroscopy as well as more than 70 original papers in various scientific journals. Dr. Rubeska ˇ was born in Prague in 1931. He graduated in 1954 from the most prestigious university in Czechoslovakia, Charles University in Prague, with a degree in physical chemistry. He
went to work in the Geological Survey of Czechoslovakia and received his PhD in chemistry from the same university in 1956. In that same year, just one year from the first paper on atomic absorption by Sir Alan Walsh, Dr. Rubeska ˇ built his own atomic absorption instrument and began applying the technique to geological problems. His very early pioneering success in applying atomic absorption to geochemistry won him an appointment as an United Nations Expert and a series of assignments from 1976 to 1993, first to Baghdad, Iraq, for 4 years; then in India and later in the Philippines and in Laos for three years, followed by a short assignment in Burma ŽMyanmar.. His performance at that first atomic absorption meeting in 1967 in Prague was remarkable. His complete mastery of English, French, German and Russian permitted him to translate immediately between the speakers and questioners from the many countries of Europe and North America. This participant will testify that this meeting was the most important early stimulant to the rapid development and distribution of this technique. Dr. Rubeska ˇ helped to organize the XX CSI international spectroscopy conference in Prague in 1977. Most recently, he guest edited the Third European ŽGraphite. Furnace Symposium published in Spectrochim. Acta, 54 噛5, May 1999. In his own country, he has led the scientific effort in atomic spectrochemistry to the excellence now displayed by the Czech Republic in this field. He introduced ICP optical emission spec-
0584-8547r01r$ - see front matter 䊚 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 5 8 4 - 8 5 4 7 Ž 0 1 . 0 0 3 6 9 - X
1798
Obituary r Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy 56 (2001) 1797᎐1798
troscopy into the Geological Survey of the Czech Republic in 1976. For many years he served as the Scientific Secretary for the Czechoslovak Spectroscopy Society ŽIoannes Marcus Marci Spectroscopy Society. and was awarded the Society’s highest medal and named as an Honorary Member of the Society. He was on the Advisory Boards of The Analyst ŽLondon., Geostandards Newsletter, Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalysis, Progress in Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy and the Canadian Journal of Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy.
Supplementing his scientific and teaching gifts was a warm personality and a lively sense of humor. His home in Prague, maintained through the long Soviet years, was on the Wenceslas Square in the heart of Prague and very close to the grand statue of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. He is survived by his charming wife, Vlasta, and two daughters. Walter Sla¨ in
Obituary
Dr. Ivan Rubeska ˇ
Ivan Rubeska ˇ
Atomic spectroscopy lost an early pioneer when Ivan Rubeska ˇ died in June of this year in Prague. He published in atomic absorption first in 1963 and in 1967 co-authored with Bedrich ˇ Moldan a book ‘Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry’ in the Czech language. It was translated into English in 1969. He organized and chaired the first international atomic absorption conference in 1967, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He organized and led several other major atomic spectroscopy meetings. He published several other books in spectroscopy as well as more than 70 original papers in various scientific journals. Dr. Rubeska ˇ was born in Prague in 1931. He graduated in 1954 from the most prestigious university in Czechoslovakia, Charles University in Prague, with a degree in physical chemistry. He
went to work in the Geological Survey of Czechoslovakia and received his PhD in chemistry from the same university in 1956. In that same year, just one year from the first paper on atomic absorption by Sir Alan Walsh, Dr. Rubeska ˇ built his own atomic absorption instrument and began applying the technique to geological problems. His very early pioneering success in applying atomic absorption to geochemistry won him an appointment as an United Nations Expert and a series of assignments from 1976 to 1993, first to Baghdad, Iraq, for 4 years; then in India and later in the Philippines and in Laos for three years, followed by a short assignment in Burma ŽMyanmar.. His performance at that first atomic absorption meeting in 1967 in Prague was remarkable. His complete mastery of English, French, German and Russian permitted him to translate immediately between the speakers and questioners from the many countries of Europe and North America. This participant will testify that this meeting was the most important early stimulant to the rapid development and distribution of this technique. Dr. Rubeska ˇ helped to organize the XX CSI international spectroscopy conference in Prague in 1977. Most recently, he guest edited the Third European ŽGraphite. Furnace Symposium published in Spectrochim. Acta, 54 噛5, May 1999. In his own country, he has led the scientific effort in atomic spectrochemistry to the excellence now displayed by the Czech Republic in this field. He introduced ICP optical emission spec-
0584-8547r01r$ - see front matter 䊚 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 5 8 4 - 8 5 4 7 Ž 0 1 . 0 0 3 6 9 - X
1798
Obituary r Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy 56 (2001) 1797᎐1798
troscopy into the Geological Survey of the Czech Republic in 1976. For many years he served as the Scientific Secretary for the Czechoslovak Spectroscopy Society ŽIoannes Marcus Marci Spectroscopy Society. and was awarded the Society’s highest medal and named as an Honorary Member of the Society. He was on the Advisory Boards of The Analyst ŽLondon., Geostandards Newsletter, Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalysis, Progress in Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy and the Canadian Journal of Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy.
Supplementing his scientific and teaching gifts was a warm personality and a lively sense of humor. His home in Prague, maintained through the long Soviet years, was on the Wenceslas Square in the heart of Prague and very close to the grand statue of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. He is survived by his charming wife, Vlasta, and two daughters. Walter Sla¨ in