André Zana Ndontoni (1942 – 2025)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Professor Emeritus André Zana Ndontoni, a renowned figure in Seismology and Volcanology who passed away on April 1, 2025. Born August 6, 1942, Professor Zana earned his high school diploma in Mathematics and Physics in 1963 from the Institut de la Salle de Tumba (DR Congo), a Bachelor’s degree in Physics in 1969 from the University of Liège (Belgium), and between 1969 and 1970 he completed a postgraduate internship at the Centre de Physique du Globe in Dourbes (Belgium). From 1974 to 1975, he pursued a Master’s degree in Seismology at the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering in Tokyo (Japan). In 1997, he obtained his PhD in Geophysics from Tohoku University (Japan) and later undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the same university between 1981 and 1982.

Professor Zana began his professional career at the Institut Supérieur des Techniques Appliquées (ISTA), where he served as a Teaching Assistant from 1970 to 1973. He went on to become a researcher at several institutions in the DRC including the Centre de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles (CRSN) in Lwiro-Bukavu (1974 – 1993), the Centre de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (CRGM) in Kinshasa (1994 – 1995), and the Centre de Recherche en Géophysique (CRG) (1996 – 2025). He was also a university professor, notably in the Department of Physics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Kinshasa and at the University of Kimpese. Professor Zana held several leadership roles: Head of the Geophysics Department at CRSN/Lwiro, Director General of CRSN/Lwiro, Director General of CRG/Kinshasa, and Vice Dean in charge of education at the Faculty of Petroleum and Gas at the University of Kinshasa.

Starting in the 1970s, he initiated collaborations with Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan) and Hokkaido University (Sapporo, Japan), which led to the deployment of the first dense network of geophysical equipment (mainly seismographic) around the Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira active volcanoes, as well as the training of the Congolese researchers and technicians in Japan. In 1982, while serving as Director General of CRSN/Lwiro, he launched a project in Goma to create a geophysics branch for closemonitoring of the Virunga volcanoes, leading to the construction in 1987 of what would become the current Goma Volcanological Observatory. In 1994, Professor Zana also established the Centre de Recherche en Géophysique (CRG) in Kinshasa and deployed the very first network of seismographic stations in that part of the DRC.

Professor Zana's research focused on the geodynamics of the East African Rift, particularly its western branch, where he specialized and carried out extensive work in seismology and volcanology in the Virunga volcanic province. He was a member of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), the American Geophysical Union, and the Smithsonian Institution of Washington for natural phenomena. He was also an honorary member of the Regional Commission of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie for Central Africa and the Great Lakes.

Professor Zana was known for his highly methodical and rigorous scientific approach. He was distinguished by unparalleled patience and discipline, skillfully combining intellectual rigor with compassionate mentorship. He leaves behind a vast scientific legacy, including geophysics research centers and many researchers and technicians whom he trained and inspired through his passion for science –a pioneering role for which he will always be remembered with gratitude.

We extend our deepest condolences to Professor Zana’s family, friends, colleagues, and students.

Dr Charles Balagizi, Scientific Director of Goma Volcano Observatory, Goma, DR Congo