Mineralogical Association of Canada

André Edmond Lalonde passed away on December 21, 2012, after a brief battle with cancer. André was an exceptional and gifted individual who will be greatly missed in so many spheres of activity. He was appointed Professor of Mineralogy at the University of Ottawa in 1985, where he became known and was rewarded for his exceptional talents in teaching. His talents in administration also were soon recognized; he was appointed interim dean of the Faculty of Science when the incumbent was suddenly disabled and later became dean, a post that he held for fi ve years. André was at fi rst apprehensive about the appointment, as he did not believe that he had the right personality to deal with problems facing the faculty. In fact, he turned out to be an exceptional dean because of his interpersonal skills and human values. He vigorously promoted the interests of the entire faculty and of the whole university, his alma mater at the undergraduate level. He is remembered for building bridges between units and for establishing an international research center in photonics at the University of Ottawa. His passion for optical mineralogy is well known, as illustrated by his guest appearance at the Canadian Micro Mount Association symposium at Brock University in May 2012. At a recent GAC-MAC meeting, he presented a public lecture entitled “The Role of Mineralogy in Human Health.” He contributed a similar talk at my retirement celebration in 2009, and I in turn presented him with an alluring T-shirt showing the structure of the new mineral species lalondeite, (Na,Ca,□)6Ca3Si16O38(F,OH)2•3H2O, discovered at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Québec [McDonald AM, Chao GY (2009) Canadian Mineralogist 47: 181-191].