THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM A
LETTER SENT TO THE FAMILY OF HERMAN
WOLTRING ON BEHALF OF THE
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF BIOMECHANICS
November 4, 1992
While those of us who knew Herman feel a deep sense
of personal loss, we feel too that Herman will be an
irreplaceable loss to the scientific community where he
will be remembered as a dynamic figure of towering
intellect. He made contributions to the field of
numerical analysis and three dimensional
reconstruction in Biomechanics that will stand as
beacons in the literature for many years to come.
There is no single individual in the world who has the
breadth and depth of knowledge in this area that
Herman possessed.
Herman attended all the meetings of The International
Society of Biomechanics over the last 15 years and was
a vivid and engaging participant in these meetings. In
the last five years, he spent much of his energy on the
new field of electronic communication to which he
became passionately devoted. He served as moderator
of the BIOMCH-L bulletin board which provided an
immediate link between biomechanical scientists all
over the world. Through this medium, it true to say
that Herman influenced almost every single worker in
our field and was constantly exploring new avenues
for bringing scientists together. His erudite comments
and voluminous contributions to ongoing intellectual
debates in these electronic forums were second to
none. He was also to be the organizer of the satellite
meeting on Three Dimensional Analysis of Human
Movement in Poitiers in 1993 and spent much energy
on the promotion of this endeavor.
Figures such as Herman are encountered all too
infrequently in scientific life. He challenged,
enlightened, and stimulated us all to greater
accomplishments. We feel his loss deeply and will
long carry with us the memory of his exceptional life
and times.
Peter R. Cavanagh, Ph.D.
Secretary General
International Society of Biomechanics.