We are sad to hear of the sudden passing of Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Here is the Smithsonian’s announcement on Facebook.

It is with profound sadness that we share the news that our friend and colleague Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, unexpectedly passed away this weekend.

After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, he was a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University and our museum. Following a distinguished career at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, he returned here as the Associate Director for Research and Collections in 2005 and then rejoined the Department of Paleobiology in 2009.

Hans authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific papers and helped name a number of new species, including Anzu wyliei, a 500-pound, bird-like, feathered dinosaur nicknamed the “chicken from hell.” The dome-headed dinosaur genus Hanssuesia was named in his honor. Recently, he was a part of a team that discovered Tyrannoroter heberti, one of the earliest known land vertebrates to start eating plants.

Hans received a number of honors for his scientific contributions. He also gave back by serving in leadership roles at organizations in the field of paleontology and involving science more broadly, like the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology and the National Geographic Society.

Hans was an excellent science communicator and was successful in generating excitement and understanding about paleobiology with schoolchildren, policy makers, donors, the media, and filmmakers alike. Hans had a great sense of humor and an infectious laugh. His starring role in our “Dr. Is In” YouTube series made him even more fans and for good reason.

Last fall, Hans appeared on Paleo Nerds: a Prehistoric Podcast. Listening, you get a real sense of how much joy he took from fossils and being a part of the paleo community. In his own words, he talks about how he became the scientist he was and gives a peek into just how wide-ranging his interests and expertise were.

Hans will be greatly missed.