Dear Friends,
I would like you to join me in remembering Marino Nicolini, who suddenly and unexpectedly passed away October 31, 2004.

Marino was a man of great humanity, intellectual vivacity, scientific curiosity and a man with enthusiasm for life. Those who had the opportunity to interact with him experienced his deep sympathy that made them feel at ease.
Marino was also a very active man, devoting himself to a thousand enterprises in which he reached his objectives in all of them. He had a gift for encouraging enthusiasm in the people around him, with advice that was always positive and inspiring.
He very much enjoyed spreading happiness and love to others.

I greatly admired Marino's tireless efforts to improve his work. He always encouraged me to refine our activities in order to achieve the best result possible.
Even though Marino's accomplishments and honors are too numerous to list here, he was modest in accepting them. However, he was delighted and grateful for the smallest sign of appreciation.

Marino Nicolini was full professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Padova. Many generations of students appreciated his lessons, which were oriented through principles of the chemical sciences, to teaching a way of life and human behavior that respects the environment and people.
Furthermore, Marino was a keen about music and the major architect of the Orchestra da Camera which the participants of the first Technetium Symposium in Padova had a chance to hear.

Marino spent a period of his life in the US at Northwestern University in Evanston, where he became a good friend of Fred Basolo who staid in contact with Marino until his passing. Before his death he showed me Fred's last letter, which he kept in his pocket until his last hour.

In occasion of the seventh edition of the Technetium Symposium, I would like to commemorate Marino together with all of you, because he devoted his enthusiasm and endless hours of effort to this project. He felt, as all of us do, that we are a big family united with the same goal. Marino was my tutor and mentor. I think that he gave his compassion to countless other friends.
As my co-worker Raffaella told me, we all have been lucky just to have had the opportunity to meet and work with Marino for such a long time.

Ulderico Mazzi