Emeritus Professor Óscar Parra Barrientos, Founder of Chile’s EULA Center, Dies

Dr. Óscar Parra Barrientos, emeritus professor of biology at the Universidad de Concepción, has died. He was a leading Chilean environmental scientist who founded the Centro de Ciencias Ambientales (EULA) and served as its first director for two decades after its creation in 1990. He also headed the Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP) between 2005 and 2011, pioneering research on aquatic ecosystems that shaped national environmental policies.

Parra’s contributions earned him several honors, including the Forjador Ambiental award of the Biobío Region (2011), the title of professor emeritus (2011), and knighthood in the Order of the Star of Italy (2023). The Universidad de Concepción, the Municipality of Concepción, MSD’s aquaculture business unit, and the Club Innovación Acuícola all issued condolences, recognizing his lasting impact on Chile’s environmental science and training of new generations of researchers.