Bruce D. Sidell (20 March 1948-8 February 2011).

The discipline of comparative and evolutionary physiology suffered the loss of one of its most creative scholars earlier this year, with the all-too-young passing of Bruce Sidell. As all who knew Bruce – either personally or from reading his many excellent publications – realize, his science exemplified the 'curiosity-driven' approach to investigation that commonly leads to the most novel and fascinating of discoveries. Bruce marched to the beat of his own drum, and the pathway he followed throughout his career was intellectually, technically and geographically wide-ranging and adventurous. He spotted questions that others in his field had missed and taught us many lessons about 'how animals work' that we otherwise might not have learned. Bruce's approach to science also taught us much about the importance of collegiality, candor and collaboration in advancing the scientific enterprise. Bruce's personal model not only helped to shape the career approaches of his many graduate students but also served as an exemplar to his peers and colleagues of how best to pursue a life in science. In preparing this tribute, we were again reminded of all that Bruce meant to us as a friend, collaborator and intellectual catalyst of his field. We hope that our words serve as a clear reminder not only of what Bruce discovered but also of what he taught us about the most effective – and enjoyable – modes of fostering discovery. Throughout his scientific career, Bruce manifested a remarkable talent for formulating novel and important questions and then choosing the right organisms and methodologies to get the answers. The science from his laboratory was always well crafted in design, executed with precision, and interpreted with the right balance of conservatism and speculation. His success is reflected in a career of uninterrupted funding from the National Science Foundation (USA). The output from his laboratory at the University of Maine was impressive in quantity and quality and continues to serve as an intellectual springboard for studies on a wide spectrum of questions in thermal biology. Bruce's decision to pursue a career in biology can probably be traced to his introduction to research at his undergraduate alma mater, Boston University, in the laboratory of Frank Belamarich, whom he admired greatly. From there, Bruce moved to the laboratory of C. Ladd Prosser at the University of Illinois, which at the time was a leading center for study of the thermal biology of animals. Bruce's …