Mario Castagnino

Argentina

1935-2018

Obituary:

Born on January 7th1935 in Rosario, Argentina, Dr. Mario Alberto Guillermo José Castagnino was a Senior Researcher of the National Council of Science and Technical Research (CONICET) and
Emeritus Profesor of the Buenos Aires University (UBA). In 2016 he was pronounced
Distinguished Citizen by the city council of Rosario. He wrote over 250 scientific papers. As a wide
world eminent physicist, researcher and teacher, he actively boosted the development of research in
Physics through the creation of institutions and the training of human resources.

Between 1956 and 1961, Castagnino worked in the course of Rational Mechanics given by the
renowned mathematician Beppo Levi in the Faculty of Mathematics, Physico-chemical and Applied
to Industry Sciences of the Litoral National University (UNL), currently Faculty of Exact Sciences,
Engineering and Land Surveying of the Rosario National University (UNR). In 1960 he graduated
in Civil Engineering in the same faculty and five years later he obtained the title of PhD in
Mathematical Sciences at the University of Rome. In 1974, he obtained a State doctorate in
Sciences at the University of Paris VI, supervised by the scientist André Lichnerowitz.

As he returned from Italy in 1965, Castagnino had the dream of redirecting the Physics Department
towards research rather than education, since it was mainly devoted to the teaching of basic
elementary physics in those days. With the solid purpose of reaching this goal, he gave the
Electricity and Magnetism course that year including for the first time Maxwell's differential
equations and a vector treatment of the fields. The Faculty Board of Directors considered, then, the
creation of a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics. Besides, Castagnino led the creation of the Physics
Institute of Rosario (IFIR), on November 25th 1980, acting as director/organizer, thanks to an
agreement established between the UNR and CONICET. He conformed a research group within the
IFIR dedicated to the study of Field Theories and General Relativity, and actively participated in the
training of doctors in that discipline.

He also developed a wide collaboration with the most outstanding scientists of his area of interest,
1977-Nobel Prize in Chemistry Ilya Prigogine among them. Simultaneously with his activities in
Rosario, Castagnino was also creator and Director of the Research Group in Cosmology and
Relativity of the Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics (IAFE, CONICET-UBA) in Buenos
Aires, focusing its studies on Gravity, Cosmology and Quantum Physics. He supervised numerous
PhDs in Physics in this institution. Some of his former PhD students became world wide
outstanding scientists.

Concerned about the public dissemination of astronomy at his home town, Castagnino left one of
the most important legacies to his city through the great contribution he made to the Observatory
and Planetarium. In 1981, together with engineers Parachú and Báncora and local businessmen, he
provided the decisive impulse to finalize the creation of the Rosario Planetarium, halted for years
due to several problems: trying to obtain information, they undertook a trip to Germany which
proved unsuccessful, so that they solved the issue employing local technology. In addition, he kept
supporting the Arts Museum in Rosario named after his uncle, Juan B. Castagnino, increasing the
museum heritage. The first session of the city council after Dr. Castagnino’s decease began with a
minute of silence to pay respect to his memory.

Beyond his role as an outstanding scientist, Mario Castagnino will undoubtedly live in our
memories as a friendy, generous, cheerful colleague always faithful to his most noble ideals.