I would like to join everyone in extending my heartfelt condolences. I had the opportunity to hear Fred Bookstein speak during a video-call lecture in September 2025, as part of the wonderfully organized workshop in Vienna. Beyond the fascinating scientific content, what remained most strongly with me was his relentless drive to go beyond what had already been achieved, constantly seeking new ideas and new methods.
Fred Bookstein's lifelong work represents a milestone in the field of biometrics, through the development and dissemination of numerous approaches that are now widely used not only in morphometrics but across many related disciplines. Personally, I have been deeply influenced by many of his papers, beginning with his pioneering work on tensor biometrics in the late 1970s and 1980s—a topic that continues to inspire my research today—and, of course, by his seminal contributions on Thin-Plate Splines, including his later critical reflections on the method. His books, too, stand apart from conventional scientific pedagogy. Yet I believe that the intellectual effort required to grasp the depth of his messages constitutes one of his greatest legacies. They challenge us to question and deepen our often overly linear understanding of biometrics, statistics, and scientific reasoning. I am also particularly grateful for his chapter on abduction in his 2014 book *Measuring and Reasoning*, which left a lasting impression on me. My deepest condolences go to his family and to all those who loved him. Paolo Piras Il giorno dom 21 giu 2026 alle ore 18:17 'F. James Rohlf' via Morphmet < [email protected]> ha scritto: > Oh, so sad. A giant in many ways and a good friend and colleague. He will > be missed. > > Jim > > __________________ > F. James Rohlf, Distinguished Prof. Emeritus > Dept. Anthropology and Ecology & Evolution > Stonybrook University > > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Joe Felsenstein <[email protected]> > Date: 6/20/26 11:38 PM (GMT-05:00) > To: Morphmet <[email protected]> > Cc: Joe Felsenstein <[email protected]>, Joe Felsenstein <[email protected]> > > Subject: [MORPHMET2] Sad news > > EXTERNAL EMAIL - This email was sent by a person from outside your > organization. Exercise caution when clicking links, opening attachments or > taking further action, before validating its authenticity. > Morphmet Folks -- > > I am sad to report the death of my good friend and > colleague Fred Bookstein. He died this morning > at a hospital in Seattle after a struggle of almost > two years with cancer. > > Fred was born on 27 July 1947, so he was 78 > years old. He is survived by his wife of over > 50 years, Ede, and two daughters, one who lives > in London and one in Oakland, and through whom > they had four grandchildren. > > I am sure that people here will have many thoughts > about his contributions to morphometrics. > > Joe > -- > Joe Felsenstein [email protected], [email protected] > Department of Genome Sciences and Department of Biology, > University of Washington, Box 355065, Seattle, WA 98195-5065 USA > ----- > PS: please do not use [email protected], which is an alias > that some mail systems now mistake as indicating spam. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Morphmet" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r01/___https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/morphmet2/CABXfcPHdq5n*2B-mfPJ*2BxUpRQ1UsWLPuJskXw0y0SNeXu5u91C-Q*40mail.gmail.com___.YzJ1OnN0b255YnJvb2s6YzpnOjRkYzIxOGNlMDRlZjlhZjViMjg0NTViM2VjNTQyN2I0Ojc6ZGNmNzphODk2MDRjOTEzZjZlZDgzYmI3NTAyOTAxZTExYzdlZTAzYzM1NDc4M2JkMmI3NDRkZmI0OTI5NTNiZGQ5ZDIwOnA6VDpG > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Morphmet" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/morphmet2/6a380e8f.e234ecc0.40e36.136d%40mx.google.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/morphmet2/6a380e8f.e234ecc0.40e36.136d%40mx.google.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Morphmet" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/morphmet2/CAAdPgfOL0Q9Eq59h10L3PNsNHhmxh5UHOrPyK1JZ%3DacVabWHSw%40mail.gmail.com.
