Bernardo Van Raij, from Ponta Grossa, Paraná, is an agricultural engineer from UFRRJ (1962). In 1967, he completed his doctorate in Agronomy with an emphasis on Soil Science at Esalq/USP and then, in 1971, another doctorate from Cornell University, in the USA. In 1977, at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands, he improved his knowledge in Soil Chemistry.

He worked as a researcher at the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) from 1970 until his retirement, dedicating himself to studies of soil electrochemical properties, as well as to solving analytical problems in the soil laboratory for pedological survey purposes, contributing greatly to the development of pedological surveys and Brazilian Soil Classification Systems.

In the Soil Fertility and Plant Fertilization section, currently the Center for Soils and Environmental Resources, Van Raij dedicated himself to research into soil and plant analysis methods, aiming to improve nutritional diagnosis and fertilization recommendations. The work resulted in a broad reformulation of soil analysis, with emphasis on the IAC methods and liming recommendations, and analyses of phosphorus by resin and micronutrients by DTPA pH 7.3, which, together with all the research carried out by the IAC team led by him on fertilization and plant nutrition, resulted in recommendations for liming and fertilization, based on soil analysis, leaf diagnosis and expected productivity.

Bernardo Van Raij wrote books that are references for Brazilian Soil Science, among which the following stand out: Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management (2nd edition 2008) and Agricultural Gypsum (2nd edition 2008), which leveraged the use of gypsum, contributing to the improvement of subsoil fertility in Brazilian agriculture. He is also the author of the book Chemical Analysis for the Evaluation of Fertility in Tropical Soils (2001), which guides the performance of analyses in several research projects in the country.

Van Raij is the author of over 150 published scientific articles, nine books, and over 40 book chapters. He also teaches classes and courses in postgraduate courses at Unesp-Jaboticabal, Esalq-USP, and Cornell University in the United States. He has supervised and co-supervised several dissertations and theses of students in postgraduate courses at Esalq, Unesp-Jaboticabal, Unicamp, and IAC. In addition to his career dedicated to soil science, he has also always been committed to strengthening the Brazilian Society of Soil Science. A member since 1963, he is a member of the Board of Directors and served as 2nd Vice President from 1973 to 1975. In 1982, he chaired the Organizing Committee of the XV Brazilian Meeting on Soil Fertility. In 1976, he participated in the group established to create the Brazilian Journal of Soil Science (RBCS), of which he was an assistant editor. The title of Honorary Member of SBCS was nominated by the São Paulo Nucleus of SBCS and solemnly conferred during the opening of the XXXVIII Brazilian Congress of Soil Science, on July 30, 2023, in Florianópolis. This is a fair tribute to Bernardo Van Raij’s scientific career and dedication to soil science in Brazil.