n memoriam: Dr Guilherme Laozola Frainer Correa– 05 Aug 1987 to 29 April 2024 It is with deep sorrow and immense pain that we share the news of the passing of researcher, collaborator and dear friend, Dr Guilherme Laizola Frainer Correa. [see attached pdf for version with active hyperlinks to references and websites. ] Guilherme, or simply Gui, as he was known, graduated in 2011 in Biological Sciences at UFRGS in Porto Alegre, Brazil where he worked in the Ichthyology laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Luiz Roberto Malabarba with neotropical fishes <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772000.2021.1986167>. However, from a very young age, his passion for the sea led him to work as an intern at Labsmar (Laboratory of Systematics and Ecology of Marine Birds and Mammals), under the guidance of Prof. Ignacio Moreno. He stood out early on for his determination and drive to pursue his dreams and research projects in the field. From then on, he never stopped, and in his master's degree (2013), using innovative techniques of computerized tomography and magnetic resonance, he brought extremely important data to understand the cause of accidental mortality of Franciscana dolphins <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12211> in their early years and their possible relationship with the development of echolocation apparatus. In his Ph.D. (2019) <https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/128/3/700/5550896?login=false>, he went even further and unraveled the mysteries of the embryonic development of different odontocete lineages and their relationship with sound production. He carried out various activities in the Botos da Barra Project <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-024-03443-w>, from which he never disconnected, even when he went to develop part of his doctorate in Germany under the guidance of Dr. Stefan Huggenberger or his post-doctoral research in South Africa. In 2020, Gui joined the Sea Search group <http://seasearch.co.za/about/> and the University of Cape Town, working with Dr Tess Gridley and Dr Simon Elwen, where he rapidly became a central part of the team. He lead several lines of research with a focus on humpback dolphins <https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.23981>, and acoustic differentiation of delphinids in the region, but he was involved in projects on several other species including humpback whales and killer whales. He worked with a variety of research techniques <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954123003205?via%3Dihub>, always seeking to innovate using cutting-edge tools and creating new ways to answer the scientific questions he posed himself. Gui successfully transitioned from Zoological research expertise to an advanced machine learning one, a transition which is challenging and time consuming. Gui had learnt a great deal about machine learning and was undoubtedly on a path to produce impactful and important research contributions related to machine learning and marine bioacoustics. Gui was always eager to learn more and challenge himself intellectually regardless of the level of difficulty; no challenge was too big. He produced open-source scientific code <https://github.com/Gui-Frainer/CetusID> where he challenged himself to learn advanced computing methodologies and algorithms. Gui led a large number of research outputs in reputable international journals. He also had great sensitivity, sharing stories with artisanal fishermen, whether in the Barra do Tramandaí river, or in Mozambique. In addition, he had a tremendous concern to pass on his knowledge to society and especially to children <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354544747_Nariz_para_fazer_som_Nose_to_play_sound>. He leaves us at his peak, he had recently started a post-doc at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences and was very excited! The research group at AIMS was extremely happy to have Gui on board, where he was going to conduct research in deep neural networks for bioacoustics. Gui always had a strong vision to develop easy-to-use and accessible software code that would massively impact researchers in marine bioacoustics. Despite the pain and sadness, Gui leaves us with an invaluable legacy of scientific knowledge. But more than that, he leaves us his contagious joy, his happiness, his unique way of seeing the world <https://gui-frainer.github.io/guifrainer.github.io/photography.html>, and his passion for the sea and the waves. Rest in peace, here we will cherish your joy and your teachings! We wish strength to your family, friends, and colleagues to get through this difficult time. ... .. -- --- -. / . .-.. .-- . -. Simon Elwen Ph.D. - Director Sea Search Research & Conservation <http://www.seasearch.co.za> and the Namibian Dolphin Project <http://www.namibiandolphinproject.org> Research Associate: Department of Zoology and Botany - Stellenbosch University Associate Fellow: Mammal Research Institute - University of Pretoria Office: +27 21 788 1206 Cell/Whatsapp: +27 71 139 5951