In Memoriam: John Parsons
Jose Julio Ortega, Chris Hughes and Gabriel Sigmund, on behalf of the SETAC Persistence Science Interest Group, and Kees van Gestel, on behalf of the ARES group
On 12 November 2024, John Parsons passed away after succumbing to the effects of oesophagus cancer. John was internationally renowned for his great expertise in environmental chemistry. We will always remember him for his great drive and devotion to his work and his colleagues, as well as for being a very kind and modest colleague.
John Parsons completed his PhD in environmental chemistry at the University of Amsterdam in 1988. After working for a short period outside academia, he returned to the university in 1991 to be a researcher and lecturer for the rest of his career. His research interest was on the sorption, biodegradation and bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and his expertise in these fields was recognized internationally. He became a welcome speaker at international conferences such as SETAC annual meetings.
At the University of Amsterdam, John led and participated in several large EU projects, studying the bioavailability of organic contaminants (ABACUS), the role of microbial adaptation in the biodegradation of persistent chemicals (CEFIC LRI-ECO29), and the fate and effects of brominated flame retardants and their non/halogenated alternatives (FIRE). With the latter project, he also contributed to building a bridge between environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology, testing both the environmental fate and effects of these compounds.
John was not only a great researcher but also a great teacher. Here, again, he served as a bridge-builder by contributing to several bachelor and master teaching programs at the University of Amsterdam, with courses ranging from Environmental Chemistry to the interdisciplinary course Energy Transitions. He was the prime supervisor of many successful PhD studies, and students loved John´s erudite knowledge of the microbial biodegradation of chemical pollutants. John also greatly contributed to the Open Online Textbook on Environmental Toxicology, generously sharing his knowledge with all of us.
After his formal retirement in 2018, John remained active as a scientist, regularly visiting the University of Amsterdam to discuss research results with students and colleagues. He joined the Dutch ARES group (Association of Retired Environmental Scientists) in 2019, where he became very active in projects dedicated to defining persistence, including the development of the Persistence Assessment Tool (PAT) software to support the regulatory evaluation of chemicals.
Throughout his career, John built bridges internationally as well, among others in SETAC. He was a member of the organizing committee of the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting 1997 in Amsterdam and part of the scientific committee for several annual meetings after that, most recently for the SETAC Europe 2024 meeting in Seville. John made key contributions to the SETAC Europe 10th Special Science Symposium (SESSS) on bioavailability and the recent ECETOC workshop and task forces on persistence. John’s passion for understanding chemical biodegradation and persistence was always evident, and he played an important role in raising the profile of this issue at SETAC, which ultimately culminated in the formation of a new interest group for persistence science in 2024. His contribution was always much appreciated.
John’s devotion to science and teaching, particularly to the PhD students and junior researchers he mentored, was great. In July, he was still very active in an ARES workshop on persistency, and even shortly before he passed away, he provided feedback on a manuscript.
John was a great scientist, a modest and exceptionally kind man, and a great team player, making it a real pleasure and privilege to work with him. In addition, for some of us at least, he went beyond that by offering his personal support and good friendship during all these years. He will be dearly missed. Our thoughts are with his family.
Author’s contact: [email protected]