Costa Rican chemist and physicist, author of a settlement of the periodic table based on the electronic structure of the elements, which places the lanthanide and actinide series in a logical sequence according to their atomic number. From a young age showed great passion and skill to study languages. Upon graduation Bachelor he could already read in three languages, other than the mother, namely English, French, and German, who studied and perfected on their own. It had also initiated studies of Russian, Latin and Greek. Later he studied Italian and Portuguese. Since also showed great love for music, he cultivated since childhood by studying the piano, whose first knowledge obtained in the family atmosphere at the early age of 6 years. His interest in music led him years later to form, organize and direct a choir “a cappella” even managed to record an album, released in 1969 under his leadership and with the assistance of his wife. The first edition sold out, which required a second printing. Their constant attention to the music made ??it a thoroughly knowledgeable of the various music schools. He began his studies in 1940 at the School of Agronomy, a year before the University of Costa Rica was founded. In a time not higher mathematics courses were offered, initiated by his own efforts to study calculus. Since then he maintained a continuous activity of study of mathematics as a personal hobby, along with his dedication to the study of science. He qualified as an agronomist in 1944 and that same year went on a study trip to the United States, as a scholarship student, and entered Cornell University in upstate New York. After a year of study, this prestigious university conferred the title of Master of Science. On his return home in 1962 he returned to the University of Costa Rica as a full professor in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, a position he held for twelve years until 1974. From 1978 until January 1999 he worked as a teacher and coordinator courses in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics of the Autonomous School of Medical Sciences of Central America.
He died on 27 May 2005.
Link to Wikipedia biography (Spanish)