Neutrino masses twenty–five years later

The discovery of neutrino mass marks a turning point in elementary particle physics, with important implications for nuclear and astroparticle physics. Here I give a brief update, where I summarize the current status of three–neutrino oscillation parameters from current solar, atmospheric, reactor and accelerator neutrino data, discuss the case for sterile neutrinos and LSND, and also the importance of tritium and double beta decay experiments probing the absolute scale of neutrino mass. In this opininated look at the present of neutrino physics, I keep an eye in the future, and a perspective of the past, taking the oportunity to highlight Joe Schechter’s pioneering contribution, which I have had the fortune to share, as his PhD student back in the early eighties.