Who is Wim Vader?

This is a short biodata of Professor Wim Vader of Tromso University describing himself to Professor Richard Nowotny of Melbourne, Australia in a short email posted in Birding Australia forum. I've reproduced it here in case anyone's wondering who he is after reading his notes which I have reproduced here.

"In a nutshell, I was born (1937) and bred in the Netherlands (Zeeland) and am still a Dutch citizen. I studied in Leiden (biology) and was active in the NJN, the Dutch youth nature club, as are most Dutch field biologists. After my studies I worked as a benthos marine biologist at the Delta Institute in Yerseke, close to my birth place for two years, but meanwhile I had met my future (Norwegian) wife on a biological excursion of the Leiden students, so in 1965 I emigrated to Norway and got married. I lived on grants for 8 years in Bergen and our 3 children were born there.

In 1973, I got the position of curator at Tromsø Museum, that I still occupy; my responsibility is "everything but the insects", from sponges to whales. In 90 I was elected as a full professor. In 1985 my wife, then the professor of aquatic biology, died of leukaemia.  I now live in a LAT relationship with an old school friend from my village, but she still lives in Holland, and it was her garden I have described a few times. So here in Tromsø I live alone.

My professional base is wider than deep; I use as a motto something I heard somebody say disparagingly about a colleague: "My science is like the Mississippi river, 3 miles broad and 5 inches deep". But I am a well-known specialist in the taxonomy and biology of the Amphipoda, and I have also for a period of some 10 years done seabird research. I lived twice in California (Bodega Bay, and La Jolla) and once in Sydney (1993) during sabbaticals, and hope to go to Cape Town for 3 months this autumn, for what may well be my last sabbatical.

I have started a website at (now defunct):
http://home.sol.no/~rupersso/Museet/Vader/

, and that will show you where Tromsø is, tell a bit about my scientific work, and give a list of publications.

I should think this would be more than you ever wished to know.

In addition I can tell you that we have had wonderful weather the last weeks (while Oslo "snows down", something we register with great malice): calm, sunny, cold.  One of these days the first Oystercatcher will be back, something that even the newspapers register. Next to come are Common Gull and Common Starling, but spring itself is not before May.

Best greetings,
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway"