Eduard Meine van Zinderen-Bakker

Eduard Meine van Zinderen Bakker (15 April 1907 Opsterland, Friesland – 19 March 2002 Somerset West) was a Dutch-born South African palynologist who made significant contributions to the fields of plant ecology, palynology and palaeo-ecology of Africa.

The University established the Institute of Environmental Sciences and on his retirement appointed him as Director, a position he held until 1976, working with a staff of local and foreign scientists.

[2] In this regard he worked at several sites in southern and eastern Africa with J. Desmond Clark, extending the scope of his research to include the Sahara and Namib deserts and the sub-Antarctic islands of Prince Edward and Marion.

In 1965 he arranged the first major research expedition to these islands made up of an international team of 35 specialists who studied palynology, glacial geology, vulcanology, limnology, mineral cycling and bio-energetics.

Professor van Zinderen Bakker served as Chairman of the International Group of Specialists in the Antarctic (SCAR), and President of the South African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA).