It is with great sadness that we report the death of Jacques Desnoyers who passed away peacefully in Quebec City on January 12th at the age of 87, surrounded by his loved ones.

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Jacques Desnoyers was born on 28th January 1935 in Ottawa where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1961 at the University of Ottawa. After a year of post-doctorate studies in England (University of London and of Manchester), he joined, in 1962, the chemistry department at the Université de Sherbrooke as full professor and later as director. In 1983, he became the scientific director of Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) where he also acted as interim general director (3 March 1987 to 31 July 1988). In 1991, he returned to research as full professor at INRS. During the same period, he was appointed as Ombudsman at the Université du Québec. In 2002, he retired from INRS. Meanwhile, he accepted the position of scientific advisor for the Gouvernement du Québec until 2006. He finally retired fully in 2007.

He developed and promoted flow microcalorimetry with Patrick Picker. He investigated the thermodynamic properties of electrolytes and non-electrolytes in aqueous, non-aqueous and mixed solvents, surfactant solutions, swollen micelles and microemulsions, and polymer-surfactant systems. His research found applications in the fields of low-temperature batteries, Li-ion batteries, enhanced oil recovery and soil remediation.

His work was internationally recognized and he frequently collaborated with other Canadian groups but also with groups around the world, including the USA, France and Italy. After his retirement, he received the 2007 Setaram Award from the Associazione italiana di calorimetria e analisi termica (AICAT) for his outstanding scientific achievements in the field of calorimetry.

Throughout his career, Jacques Desnoyers strongly believed in the importance of transmitting knowledge which he did through teaching, directing thesis, writing scientific articles and book chapters and reviewing manuscripts for many scientific journals.

He will be remembered for his joie de vivre, his human qualities, his professional ethical principles and for his continuous effort to promote the use of thermodynamic properties as powerful tools for the investigation of simple and complex systems.