An obituary to Eric Grimm by the EPD community

On November 15 we lost a good friend, a brilliant scientist and pioneer in striving for open shared scientific data. Eric Grimm’s passing leaves a large empty space in our hearts.

Eric is known worldwide to the palynological community as the maker of the “Tilia” program to manage pollen data and produce pollen diagrams. He was a key driver behind the creation of pollen databases; he helped establish our European Pollen Database and supported our work over the years. His knowledge of different aspects of palaeoecology, plant taxonomy and computer programming was combined in his contribution and lasting legacy, the palaeoecological database Neotoma.

We also remember Eric for his passionate discussions of new ideas and findings. He supported palynologists worldwide in countless workshops, teaching them how to best create pollen diagrams, understand their data and work with pollen databases. He showed patience and enthusiasm for individual problems and was indefatigable in finding solutions.

Beyond this, Eric enriched many workshop evenings with stories of fieldwork and science history based on his immense and irreplaceable experience. He will be greatly missed by our community as a leader, a scientist and a friend.