Hernâni Lopes da Silva Maia (1936-2024)
Professor Hernâni Maia (1936-2024) passed away on the past 15th of July, at 88 years of age. He dedicated his professional life to teaching and research, authoring a wide range of publications, from articles in renowned international chemistry journals to works beyond the chemistry field, in areas such as cosmogony, history and genealogy.
Hernâni Maia graduated in physical-chemical sciences at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in 1962, but his academic career had begun the year before, as teaching assistant at the University of Porto, Portugal. In 1964, he was on a two-year service commission at the University of Luanda, Angola, after which he moved to the University of Exeter, UK, where in 1970 he obtained the PhD in Chemistry. He remained at Exeter as visiting lecturer until 1971 and, following a second stint in Angola, in 1975 he returned Portugal as one of the co-founders of the University of Minho, in Braga. There, he received the Habilitation in Organic Chemistry in 1978, becoming Full Professor in 1979.
Hernâni Maia pioneered amino acid and peptide chemistry in Portugal, actively pursuing those interests within and outside the Iberian Peninsula. He was involved in the early days of the EPS, serving four terms as National Representative for Portugal. This involvement crystallized in his chairing of the 23rd EPS Symposium, held at the University of Minho in 1994, the only EPS Symposium in Portugal to date. Earlier, in 1988, he and Spanish colleagues (F. Albericio, D. Andreu, M. T. García-López, R. González-Muñiz, A. Negro, E. Nicolás) had conceived the Encuentro Peptídico Ibérico / Encontro Peptídico Ibérico (EPI, Iberian Peptide Meeting), a biennial gathering of peptide scientists from Spanish and Portuguese labs, where young researchers could share their work and sharpen their presentation skills in an inclusive, friendly atmosphere. In 2004, Hernâni Maia co-chaired the 9th edition of the EPI, the first held in Portugal, at the University of Porto. Now onto its 19th edition (Santiago de Compostela, February 26-28, 2025), the EPI remains one of the best-established regional meetings within the European Peptide Society.
Although his training and academic focus was on Organic Chemistry, Prof. Maia’s eager mind was also keen to explore other scientific areas. Thus, he pioneered the teaching of Cosmogony as applied to the Origins of Life, a field on which he published books and taught courses all over the Iberian Peninsula, including post-graduate studies on Evolution and Origins of Life, a program he created and coordinated at the University of Minho until his retirement in 2006.
After retirement, he remained active as an expert consultant with pharma companies. Also, as a life-long fan of bricolage, he had been involved in the design of cabinetry for the chemistry laboratories at University of Minho, and in the production of dozens of miniaturized molecular models and toys, which he graciously offered to schools, museums, and other institutions. More recently, he was devoted to studies of history and genealogy.
Professor Hernâni Maia’s mentorship and legacy remain through his colleagues at the Department of Chemistry, University of Minho, and extend to the EPS community at large. He will be very much missed.
Contributed by Paula Gomes, David Andreu, and Nuno C. Santos.