University of Witwatersrand
His work - and that of the students he has trained, the colleagues he has mentored, and the many journalists he has engaged with - arms us with the knowledge to act and create a better world for everyone. Even a world without him in it, writes s
cience journalist
Prof Bob Scholes was a rare breed of scientist.
In modern science and academia, there is a push to specialise, to become an expert on a plant, an ecosystem, a type of star. But Bob was a generalist, who you could speak to about topics ranging from the carbon uptake of spekboom to different energy technologies. His understanding and interests were so deep and vast that it seemed as though he was actually a specialist in all of those fields.