With the sudden death of Adel Kader, December 10, 2012, the postharvest and horticultural development community mourns the loss of a leader, teacher, mentor, colleague and friend.  His big heart, which he shared so willingly with everyone, finally failed him while travelling home from a postharvest conference in South Africa. 

Adel was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1941. He earned his B.Sc. in Horticulture in 1959 from the Ain Shams University in Cairo, and then enrolled at UC Davis where he earned his M.Sc. in Vegetable Crops in 1962, and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology in 1966.  He then returned to Egypt where he served as an Assistant Professor at Ain Shams University for five years, followed by work as a lecturer...