Paul Lim

Paul Lim at home on his sailboat Watercolour in Hilo, Hawaii (2016)

Paul Lim was a critical early researcher in Space-Time-Matter theory, focusing particularly on astrophysical tests using the soliton metric. A maverick in life as well as science, he lived on a sailboat and made his living teaching as a part-time instructor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Victoria, B.C. He made the news in 2011 when his 35-foot yacht, the Kekuli, foundered in heavy seas off Western Australia during a three-year solo trip around the world, prompting an emergency rescue. Lim was quoted at the time saying that he couldn’t wait to sail again. In 2016, he went missing aboard his new boat, the 35-foot Watercolour, during a trip back to Victoria from Hilo, Hawaii. Despite an air search by the U.S. Coast Guard, he was never seen again and is presumed drowned. His loss is a blow to science, and he is missed by all who knew him for his calm manner, childlike sense of curiosity, and eternally sunny cheerfulness.