I am sad to report that Nigel Hill, Medical Entomologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine died on the 5th January, 2010. The news is especially distressing given the recent death of Bob Dalgleish. Nigel worked on a wide range of insect pests including head lice. In particular, Nigel lead much of the recent research on the status of insecticide resistance in UK head louse populations. The news was passed on the me through Joanna Ibarra of Community Hygiene Concern who has written the following obituary which I copy here with her permission.
It is with great sadness that I have to note the passing of my friend and colleague Bob Dalgleish, who died suddenly on December 7th in San Diego following one of his many travels. Bob was a central figure in the Phthiraptera (louse) research community, first and foremost as a taxonomist, but also as a leader and organiser or international efforts to promote research on lice and taxonomy. Bob (with Steve Barker) was central to restarting the regular International Congress on Phthiraptera (ICP), more fondly known to us as the louse meetings, and helped establish the International Society of Phthirapterists to which he was eventually elected President.