As part of our special weekly tradition, we recognize Riverside residents who help make our city stronger, kinder, and more connected. This week, we honor Dr. Arturo Gómez-Pompa as our Neighbor of the Week, celebrating an extraordinary life of scientific achievement, environmental stewardship, and community building.
Dr. Gómez-Pompa, who passed away on September 17, 2025, at age 90, transformed UC Riverside into a West Coast center for tropical plant science during his more than two decades as University Professor and Distinguished Professor of Botany. Born in Mexico City in 1934, he was among the first voices to sound the alarm about rainforest destruction worldwide. After earning his doctorate at UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), he brought his expertise to UCR, where he became not just a researcher but an institution-builder. He founded the UC Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS), creating lasting bridges between California and Mexico that strengthened collaborative research and cultivated generations of graduate scholars.
His influence extended far beyond Riverside's academic halls. Dr. Gómez-Pompa served as a science policy advisor to President George H. W. Bush, chaired UNESCO's Man and Biosphere programs, and held board positions with the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In 1994, he received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often called the "Nobel Prize for the Environment," along with numerous other honors including the Chevron Conservation Medal and the David Fairchild Medal for botanical exploration. His revolutionary approach to conservation insisted that local communities be partners, not adversaries, in protecting tropical ecosystems, helping shift global conservation toward more inclusive models that valued both scientific knowledge and local wisdom.
Colleagues and students remember Dr. Gómez-Pompa for his warmth, humility, and passion for education. Through over 200 publications on biodiversity, tropical ecology, and conservation policy, he advanced our understanding of tropical ecosystems while always maintaining that science and service must work hand in hand. Local botanical and ecological circles particularly remember his generous mentorship and his dedication to making complex ecological concepts accessible to students at all levels. He is survived by his wife Norma Barrero, whom he married in 1958, their three sons Arturo Eugenio, Eduardo, and Gerardo, and a growing family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Though Dr. Gómez-Pompa's time with us has ended, the seeds he planted in Riverside through research, education, and cross-cultural understanding will continue to flourish for generations to come.
