It has been a little over a year since the death of Gabriel Trujillo, a beloved member of the IB community. Gabe was a doctoral candidate exploring the ecology and evolution of plants in the genus Cephalanthus, commonly known as button bush. Gabe was in search of a population of these plants in Sonora, Mexico, when he was killed on 19 June 2023.
Raised in Michigan, Gabe completed his undergraduate studies at Lake Forest College near Chicago. Gabe became fascinated by research early in his undergraduate career. This growing passion led him to pursue a diverse array of experiences, including participating in studies at Lake Forest and the Field Museum as well as in field-based projects at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab, on Barro Colorado Island (Panamá), in Monteverde (Costa Rica), and in Hawaii and Tanzania. Gabe graduated from Lake Forest with Honors, having completed a thesis that examined trait variation in plants in the genus Ipomopsis along an elevational gradient in the western US.
Gabe joined the graduate program in IB in the fall of 2019, as a Chancellor’s Fellow and a member of the Fine Lab. He was subsequently awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship as well as several research grants from professional societies dedicated to the study of biology. As a doctoral student, Gabe was exploring how morphology, ecology, and biogeographic history intersect to shape biological diversity. These themes provided the intellectual basis for his research, but it was his enchantment with the natural world that made Gabe a biologist. Fueled by curiosity and a love of the outdoors, he explored much of the US in search of the organisms that were the focus of his work, completing multiple road trips during which he collected samples from more than 200 populations of button bush plants. Many of these travels were shared with his fiancée, Dr. Roxanne Cruz-de Hoyos, a plant ecophysiologist and ecologist who completed her Ph.D. in IB in 2020. Gabe and Roxy were inseparable and were united as partners in both science and in life.
As a member of the IB community, Gabe was widely known for his excitement about biology. He contributed his time, energy, and enthusiasm to multiple research labs, particularly those focused on studies of plant ecology and evolution. Throughout the department, he was recognized for being kind, energetic, selfless, outspoken, and fun. Gabe’s passion for nature led him to explore the wonders of the outdoors, where he found solace and inspiration. He was an ardent botanist who amassed an important library of rare and native plants and seeds. He was also a skilled painter and ceramicist who generously shared his work with others. His love for learning about different cultures and traditions broadened his understanding of the world and enriched the lives of those around him.
Gabe was not just a scientist – he was a teacher, a mentor, and a true citizen of academia who was dedicated to fostering a love of biology in others. Gabe was committed to using his work to improve the world around him. This included advocating for students from historically marginalized backgrounds, for vulnerable members of the local communities in which he worked, and for the ecosystems in which he conducted his research. Gabe cared deeply about his heritage and his ties to Indigenous communities in Mexico and at Berkeley. Gabe organized and ran plant-related workshops for Berkeley’s Native Community Center and he was a key member of the campus Indigenous Student Garden project. During the pandemic, he was instrumental in mobilizing food and other resources for members of the Bay Area Native Community. He was a very spiritual person who, as an Aztec dancer, celebrated his Nahua and Opata ancestry, connections that greatly shaped his worldview and his interactions with everyone that he met.
Gabe is survived by his father, his fiancée, his five siblings, and seven nieces and nephews. To honor his professional and personal legacy, members of the IB graduate community have worked with Berkeley’s Graduate Assembly to establish the Gabriel Trujillo Memorial Fieldwork Scholarship, which supports graduate students engaged in fieldwork involving Indigenous peoples, land stewardship, and/or botany. Through this award, we hope that Gabe’s life will continue to inspire future generations of community-minded scientists.
Due to his death, we will not have the opportunity to experience all that Gabe would have brought to IB and to the broader research community. During the few short years that he was at Berkeley, he had already made significant impacts as a scholar and a member of our community. His passing has touched us all. We are grateful for the time that we had with him. We are saddened that he was taken from us too soon. We continue to hold Gabe in our hearts and to honor him as a researcher, a colleague, and a friend. The light that he brought into our lives endures.