Rafael Antonio Curra

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Rafael Antonio Curra
University of California at Los Angeles
  • University of Edinburgh
    • OccupationMarine biologist
    Years active1957–1968
    EmployerUniversidad de Oriente
    SpouseLuisa Antonia Lava Sanchez (1961-1966)
    Children3

    Rafael Antonio Curra (

    ichthyologist
    and university professor. He is considered one of the pioneers of oceanographic studies in his native country.

    He was an accomplished academic, administrator and scientist.

    Biography

    Rafael Antonio Curra was born in

    natural son and only child of a humble seamstress named Justina Antonia Curra, his mother took him to Caracas
    at an early age in search for a better life.

    He was a disciple of distinguished teachers such as Elena Martínez, Alonso Gamero Reyes, Francisco Tamayo and Josefina Lopez Ruiz, and was part of an extraordinary generation of professionals in the sciences of the sea and other aquatic spaces that included Fernando Cervigon, Jose Celestino Flores, Francisco Mago Leccia, Pedro Roa Morales, Rafael Martínez Escarbassiere, Gilberto Rodríguez, Pablo Mandazen Soto (Brother Gines), Evelyn Zoppi, among others.

    He studied at the Miguel Antonio Caro Teacher School, in the

    Principal at the Cañada de la Iglesia Evening School in Caño Amarillo. He completed his college degree at the Pedagogical Institute of Caracas
    where he graduated with honors in Biology and Chemistry in 1957.

    In addition to being widely recognized for the many achievements at such an early age, Rafael Antonio Curra stood out for his virtuosity with the Venezuelan cuatro.

    Rafael Antonio Curra married his college sweetheart and colleague

    zoological parks in Maracaibo and Maracay, and was the founding director of the first Caracas zoo, in 1945. He had three children: Luisa Alejandra (born in Edinburgh in 1962), Rafael Andrés (born in Caracas in 1963) and Miguel Antonio (born in Caracas
    in 1965).

    His wife died at the Military Hospital of Caracas in 1966, as a result of

    acute renal failure
    .

    Advanced studies

    Coats of arms of the University of Edinburgh

    After the Venezuelan Association for the Advancement of Science (AsoVAC) was founded in 1950 under the direction of the distinguished physician and academic Francisco De Venanzi, the concern for creating an oceanographic research center in Venezuela arose. An ambitious human resource training program allowed him to obtain a scholarship and attend first the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1958, and then the University of California at Los Angeles where he received the master's degree in Marine biology in 1960.

    In 1961, with the support of the doctor

    doctoral thesis entitled "Ionic regulation in Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet): Studies on the morphology, histochemistry and electrical properties of isolated gills"[2] that presented the results of his research on European crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), a threatened endemic species of the British Isles
    .

    Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela

    The Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela in Cumana

    The Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela was created as a Branch of Universidad de Oriente by Presidential Executive Order 459 signed by interim President Edgar Sanabria on November 21, 1958.[3][4] The institute began its work in the facilities of the Marine Biology Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture in Caigüire, Sucre state, and moved to its definitive headquarters at the Universidad de Oriente main campus in the city of Cumana, in 1963. Rafael Antonio Curra was part of the initial staff of researchers of the institute.

    In mid-1963 he was appointed Head of the Department of Marine Biology of the Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela where he developed a creative work organizing seminars, expeditions, courses and workshops, and stimulating his colleagues, publications and attendance at national and international conferences. He was the editor of the Lagena scientific publication at the Oceanographic Institute since its creation in 1963.[5][failed verification]

    In 1967 he was appointed

    marine sciences.[6]

    His outstanding role at the Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela, growing national and international prestige, and the great respect and admiration gained among colleagues and other collaborators at Universidad de Oriente placed him as frontrunner to occupy the positions of Dean and Rector of his university.

    Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

    The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, IOC/UNESCO, is an organization founded by UNESCO founded in 1961 whose main function is to promote and coordinate the study of oceanography throughout the world. In 1968, cooperative investigations of the Caribbean Sea and adjacent regions were initiated with the participation of 18 countries with interest in the area, carrying out physical, chemical, geological and biological oceanography and fisheries work.[7]

    In compliance with IOC/UNESCO Resolution V-5, and by appointment of President Raul Leoni, the first Venezuelan representation to the International Coordination Group for Cooperative Investigations in the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions (CICAR) was designated in 1968.

    Rafael Antonio Curra, as director of the

    Venezuelan Navy; and Jose Heredia Osio of the Fisheries Office of the Ministry of Agriculture.[8]

    Death

    Commemorative plaque for the 50th anniversary of the Pan Am Flight 217 tragedy

    On the night of Thursday, December 12, 1968,

    Boeing 707-321B with registration N494-PA and named "Clipper Malay" was carrying 42 passengers and nine crew members.[9][10]

    The cause of the crash was believed to be pilot error, as a result of an optical illusion created by the lights of the city on an upslope. This caused the plane to crash into the sea and explode on impact, killing all on board.[citation needed]

    Rafael Antonio Curra was returning to his country after establishing academic exchange agreements with authorities of the University of Rhode Island on behalf of Universidad de Oriente.

    On December 12, 2018, family and friends of the victims of the Pan Am Flight 217 gathered at 301 West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, and deposited 51 flowers onto the waters of the Hudson River in memory of the victims. A commemorative plaque with the names of all passengers and crew members was handed over to the administration of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, the former Pan Am base from where the ill-fated flight originated.[11]

    Tributes and distinctions

    Amphiroa sp.

    Upon confirmation of the death of Rafael Antonio Curra, the Board of Trustees of Universidad de Oriente declared three days of mourning, and ordered to raise the university flag at half-mast in all its university campuses.

    As a posthumous tribute, the library of the Oceanographic Institute of Venezuela, located on the main campus of Universidad de Oriente in Cumana, bears his name.

    The prominent Hindu philologist E. Kandaswamy Ganesan described and dedicated a kind of native benthic seaweed from the Venezuelan coast as Amphiroa currae Ganesan (1971) in posthumous tribute.[12]

    His life and work is described in the book "Lost lives of the Clipper Malay" by genealogist Lizzie Lee, published in 2020[13]

    Publications

    References

    1. ISBN 980-6122-07-0
      .
    2. hdl:1842/13526
      .
    3. ^ "Instituto Oceanográfico de Venezuela". Instituto Oceanográfico de Venezuela.
    4. ^ "Universidad de Oriente Núcleo Sucre".
    5. OCLC 2134938
      .
    6. ^ Gonzalez, Domingo (2005). "Semblanza de Rafael Antonio Curra". Boletín del Instituto Oceanográfico de Venezuela. 44:2: 145–146.
    7. ^ "La cooperación internacional para el uso del océano".
    8. ^ Cervigón, Fernando (2009). "Mi visión del Instituto Oceanográfico de Venezuela". Boletín del Instituto Oceanográfico de Venezuela. 48:2: 85–88.
    9. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-321B N494PA Caracas". aviation-safety.net.
    10. ^ "Names of the Pan Am Clippers" (PDF).
    11. ^ "Venezolanos recordaron 50 años de la tragedia del vuelo NY - Caracas". 28 December 2018.
    12. doi:10.2216/i0031-8884-10-2-155.1
      .
    13. ISBN 979-8-6845-1700-6
      .

    Bibliography
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