Prof. Gabriela Basařová has passed away

Obituary | Prof. Gabriela Basařová, DrSc, MSc, died on 16 October 2019 after a tragic traffic accident. Prof. Basařová was born on 17 January 1934 in Pilsen to a family of teachers.

She graduated from secondary school in Pilsen and the University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT) in Prague (VŠCHT Praha) where she studied malting and beer brewing at the Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Technology (Katedra kvasné chemie a technologie), known today as the Department of Biotechnology (Ústav Biotechnologie). After graduating in 1957, she joined Plzeňské pivovary (Pilsner Urquell – today owned by ASAHI), where she headed the quality control and research laboratories. In 1967, she transferred to the Research Institute of Brewing and Malting (Výzkumný ústav pivovarský a sladařský) in Prague. Here she founded the biochemistry department and later became the institute director. Between 1981 and 1998, she was the head of the Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering (Katedra kvasné chemie a bioinženýrství) at VŠCHT Praha.

The results of her scientific and professional activities concerning malting, beer brewing, oenology, modern biotechnology and bioecology have been published in more than 500 articles and six books. She remained an external professor for VŠCHT Praha until the day she passed away. She was the first nominee elected into the Hall of Fame of Czech Beer Brewing (Síň slávy českého pivovarství), established in 2002. At VŠCHT Praha, she was awarded the Prof. K. N. J. Balling and Prof. E. Votočka medals. In 2012, the Czech president, Mr. Václav Klaus, conferred the Award of Merit upon Prof. Basařová for her outstanding achievements in science and teaching.

Brewing research and the brewing industry have lost a recognized expert in her field, who was very active into her senior years. Tirelessly and to the end, she endeavored to pass on her experience to the next generation by writing specialist literature.