In Memoriam: Dr. Jan J Barendregt

It is with great sadness for us to announce that Dr. Jan J Barendregt (the former director and owner of EpiGear) died on 3 June 2017. The rapidity with which his cancer progressed surprised all of us. Ironically, Jan had recently been working on a model for this disease and, following his diagnosis, had the misfortune of experiencing the rapidly lethal end of the spectrum of possibilities.

Epigear has lost its director, sole owner and founder. However, in keeping with his principles, Jan has requested that all Epigear software (and their underlying source code) be made publicly available. This website will now act as a public repository for all Epigear software developed by Jan. This means that anyone with the requisite skills and sufficient time can maintain, improve and expand the Epigear toolkit.

Epigear was solely owned and operated by Jan. Following his death, Epigear will no longer provide updates of the software or any other direct technical support. The majority of Epigear software was developed for use in conjunction with Microsoft Excel. It is anticipated that changes to Windows or Microsoft Excel will affect the functionality of Epigear software at some point in the future. Users may wish to consider the use of a stand-alone computer with a functional combination of software (e.g., an older version of Excel that is still compatible with Epigear software).

MetaXL is an exception to the above. Queries may be forwarded to Suhail Doi (sardoi@gmx.net) who co-developed the software with Jan.

With Jan’s passing, we have lost an exceptional researcher and a generous friend. Rest in peace Jan.