Richard W. Heard (February 14, 1939 – November 2, 2022)

Professor Dr. Richard Willis Heard, a longtime and outstanding collaborator of the “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History of Bucharest, passed away on November 2, 2022. Richard was born on February 14, 1939 in Savannah, Georgia (USA). He was a graduate of Savannah Country Day School and attended the University of Georgia, receiving his BS and MS degree in Zoology. He received his PhD degree in Biology at the University of Southern Mississippi (1976). He worked for more than 35 years at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (The University of Southern Mississippi), passing through various hierarchical steps, up to that of Head of the Invertebrate Zoology Section. He was drawn to know the marine invertebrates of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and western Atlantic Ocean. His research focused primarily on the study of peracarid crustaceans. Also he mentored many students and young researchers specializing in marine biology.