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| Graduate students Coilin Minto and Daniel Ricard initiated the stairwell tribute to Ransom Myers.聽(Bruce Bottomley Photo) |
On the day that friends and colleagues heard that Ransom Myers died, the front pages of the many papers he had authored and co-authored over a prolific career appeared along the stairwell of the LSC鈥檚 biology wing.
It was the stairwell Dr. Myers would bounce up each morning, greeting students along the way, sloshing coffee from a china mug, conversing with his lab mates and reading a scientific paper 鈥� usually all at the same time. Dr. Myers, who died in 2007 of a brain tumor at the age of 54, was known for his boundless energy, passion and curiosity.
The spontaneous tribute was the work of two graduate students: Daniel Ricard and Coilin Minto. Now their effort has been made into a permanent memorial for a brilliant scientist and former head of what鈥檚 affectionately referred to as the 鈥淩AMpire.鈥� (Dr. Myers was often聽called by his initials, RAM.)
At a lunchtime event on March 31, more than 50 people assembled in the biology wing and walked up the stairwell together鈥攑ast 鈥淧hototaxis and cannibalism in gammaridean amphipods鈥� and 鈥淗ooded seal (Cystophora cristata) pup production in the Gulf of St. Lawrence鈥� and all the way up to 鈥淪aving endangered whales at no cost.鈥� Starting off with a photo of Dr. Myers nose-to-nose with a gigantic leatherback turtle on the second floor, the tribute continues up to the eighth floor鈥攁 testament to his staggering output.
鈥淗ow far would we get if we put a paper on each step?鈥� said Mr. Ricard, explaining the genesis of the project. 鈥淲e started taping.鈥�
There are actually more papers鈥�175鈥攖han steps. They include Dr. Myers鈥� landmark research papers on declining fish populations in the world鈥檚 oceans, published in such journals as Nature, Science, Ecology and the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how they appeared,鈥� explains Keith Taylor, former Dean of Science, of the initial tribute three years ago, 鈥渂ut the impact was massive. It鈥檚 a very unique memorial to a scientist.鈥�
Within days of his death, there were more papers to add to the stairwell. On March 27, 2007, a study by Dr. Myers and Julia Baum was published in the journal Science reporting that the over-fishing of large predatory sharks was having a cascading effect throughout the food chain. There have been at least 15 other posthumous publications.
For the students, taping up those papers helped them mourn their mentor. 鈥淚t left us with a humbling feeling of what we could do in our careers,鈥� says Mr. Ricard.
Publishing was Dr. Myers鈥� way of getting his research out; they were calls to action, opening salvos in ongoing arguments. Mr. Ricard recalls asking Dr. Myers鈥� how he would respond to his critics鈥斺�渁ll the tuna people I worked with were up in arms,鈥� he informs. To which Dr. Myers responded, 鈥淟et them publish.鈥�