Obituaries

Scott R. Santos, Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, died April 9. He was 52.

A native of rural Hawai`i, Santos was passionate about the biology and conservation of the brackish ponds he had explored since childhood. With its unique biodiversity and geographic isolation, Hawai`i has been the setting for many classic studies in biology. His recent research directly quantified the mystery of connectivity of Hawai`ian lava ponds. He has been recognized as one of the preeminent scholars of the biology of brackish ponds, including endemic Hawai`ian shrimp. 

While Santos was an accomplished researcher, faculty member and administrator, he was most proud of helping the next generation of scientists to be successful. Those that knew him best say his work ethic was unmatched and that his students adored him.

“He was a pioneer in his field, an exceptional scholar, a cherished colleague and mentor — his positive influence on the scientific community and on those fortunate enough to know him will be long-lasting and sorely missed,” says Derek Taylor, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

“He had an uncanny ability to motivate students and mentees. For his entire career, even during his PhD at UB, he consistently made important technical breakthroughs in non-model systems,” Taylor adds. “It is no surprise that his scholarship resulted in a large scientific impact with so many (over 8,000) citations.”

Prior to joining UB in 2022, he was a faculty member at Auburn University for 17 years and served as chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.

Cissy Ballen, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn, calls Santos “a dedicated biologist and compassionate chair.”

“Scott’s enthusiasm was infectious, and as chair he always approached challenges with a positive attitude and a sense of humor,” Ballen says. “Even after he started his lab at UB, he remained a close friend and valued mentor for me and many others in our department. He will be remembered as a kind and generous leader, a talented scholar and a dear friend.”

Mary Alice Coffroth, professor emerita in the UB Department of Geology, notes that Santos “had that rare combination of curiosity, joy in figuring things out and skills to match his curiosity. He was unique in a very positive way.” 

“He was a student with me at a time when using molecular techniques to address ecological and evolutionary questions was in its infancy, making him one of those extraordinarily rare individuals who was equally conversant in both molecular and organismal biology,” Coffroth recalls. “As such, he developed molecular tools for his ecological research, as well as for molecular evolutionary questions.

“More importantly, Scott recognized the significance of his findings at both the molecular and organismal level, and worked to take them to the next level,” she adds. “His dissertation work made significant contributions to our understanding of the diversity of the dinoflagellate endosymbionts of corals and other cnidarians.”

For example, Santos established for the first time that the algal symbiont is haploid in the vegetative stage within the host. These data are important not only to our understanding of coral-algal symbioses, but to this enigmatic group of organisms in general.

He also developed a series of molecular techniques to differentiate these algal symbionts at both the genus and species level, a finer level of resolution than had previously been possible. 

In addition to his major focus on coral symbionts and anchialine shrimp, he was an excellent collaborator on other studies, including deep sea mollusks, bacterial lineages, annelids, fish and pitcher plants.

“His skills and knowledge, his innate fascination, a quick smile and an infectious laugh made an extraordinary combination,” Coffroth says. “He was at the forefront of multiple fields and, more importantly, a friend.”

When he wasn’t working, Santos was an avid Star Wars and Marvel enthusiast, a comic book collector, a loyal Foo Fighters fan and a novice weather data collector. He was a family man and enjoyed taking his daughter, River, to the zoo, supporting her teams, showing her around his lab and office, and imparting his vast scientific — and musical — knowledge.

Santos received a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a PhD in biological sciences from UB. As a graduate student, he received a National Science Foundation/Monbusho Fellowship in 2000 to conduct research in Okinawa, Japan.

He is survived by his wife, Vicky, news content manager in the Office of University Communications; a daughter, River; his mother, Betty Santos; a brother, Alfred; a sister, Raina; and many friends and colleagues. He was predeceased by his father, Alfred Sr.

Visitation begins at 3 p.m. April 20 at Lombardo Funeral Home, 3060 Abbott Road, Orchard Park. A short service will take place at 5 p.m. Friends are encouraged to dress casually, as Santos' signature look was a T-shirt, baggy jeans, a flannel shirt and work boots.

Friends are encouraged to add their thoughts to the Lombardo tribute wall.