It was deeply saddening to learn from Mahidol University Kanchanaburi Campus, Geosciences’ alumni that Professor Dr. Katsuo Sashida sensei passed away on Wednesday 11th February 2026 (B.E. 2569) at the age 73 in Tokyo, Japan. We would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to Professor Sashida sensei’s wife and daughter, all the other members of Sashida’s family, his former students and colleagues. Professor Sashida sensei was born in Tokyo on 24th July 1953. He served as a Professor of Paleo-biological Science at the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, of Japan until his retirement in 2019. at the age of 65. His main research interest areas were focused on taxonomy and biostratigraphy of Paleozoic and Mesozoic Radiolaria and biology of recent Radiolaria. He was also interested in mass extinction events during the Phanerozoic era, and Paleozoic as well as the Mesozoic paleogeography and tectonic development of Southeast Asia.
Professor Sashida sensei was one among the most outstanding paleontologists in Asia. He supervised several Thai students from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and the various universities for the Ph.D. program in paleontology at the University of Tsukuba. With proper training and experiences gained from Tsukuba, the above scholars together with their professor later have made a great contribution to Thailand micropaleontology research studies. Also, the microfossils laboratory study on conodonts and radiolarian was set up at the Department of Mineral Resources, Rama VI Road, Bangkok. Together, they found a large number of fossils and discovered many new species, led to a big change of the age of many rock units especially the thin bedded chert of various regions. The above findings offered a clearer picture on the Paleozoic and Mesozoic stratigraphy of Thailand.
Shortly before his retirement from Tsukuba, with a strong recommendation and suggestion by Aj. Sirot Salayapongse, an invited professor and the staff of the Geoscience Program of Mahidol University Kanchanaburi Campus, approached Professor Sashida sensei and invited him to join the Mahidol University as a permanent academic staff member of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Geoscience Program. Following his retirement in December 2019, he served with the Geoscience Program for nearly four years, from 2nd December 2019 to 1st October 2023 (B.E. 2562–2566). During that period, his research assistants and junior counterparts are two of the Geoscience’s alumni, Khun Panus Hong and Khun Kantanat Trakunweerayut. Professor Sashida sensei had a very friendly personality, humble, open- minded and was passionate about research subjects of his interest. His hardworking nature on teaching, research and geological field activities had inspired hundreds of our researchers and the Geosciences alumni. Professor Sashida sensei had established a microfossils laboratory and other related facilities at the Kanchanaburi Campus. He has published seven papers in the peered review international journals including: Paleontogical Research, Palaeoworld, Reue de Micropaleontologie, and Thai Geoscience Journal. Furthermore, during that time, he had also attended a number of International Geoscience Conferences offering oral presentations or posters when he could not attend.
After the contract with Mahidol University Kanchanaburi Campus came to an end, Professor Sashida sensei and our Geoscience staff and alumni kept in touch by various ways of communication and remain active in Geoscience Research activities. In 2025, the group took part and contributed to three international conferences: Ocean & Earth Science, ICARE, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar (9th – 10th January), Reef conference, Syktyvkar, Kumi Republic of Russia (23rd – 25th June), and ICPSEA 2025, Mahasarakham University, NE Thailand (25th – 26th November). Professor Sashida sensei was invited to the ICPSEA 2025 but he had other commitment and could not come to Thailand, otherwise we would have met again for the last time in late November, 2025!
Rest In Peace, Professor Sashida sensei.
You will be missed & remembered by all of us here always,
Mahidol University Kanchanaburi Campus,
Mahidol University, Thailand.
