CAS professor remains in intensive care

Boston University professor of biology Thomas Kunz has shown improvement since undergoing an operation Oct. 30 that was meant to remedy brain injuries that he sustained from a car accident on Oct. 26, family members reported.

Pamela Kunz, the professor’s daughter, wrote on Caring Bridge, a nonprofit website, that her father underwent a four-hour surgery and that the swelling in his brain has decreased since the operation. Kunz, who was hit by a car in Toronto on his way to a conference, remains in intensive care, according to the page.

A world-renowned expert on bats, Kunz has worked at BU for 40 years and serves as the director of the Center for Ecology and Conservational Biology, colleagues said.

Kunz is expected to show more improvements next week, when doctors reduce his intake of medications, according to a post written by his wife Margaret.

BU graduate Vanessa Porter, among other friends and family members, said she has checked the site for updates. Porter said she knew Kunz as her ecology and mammalogy professor and worked with him at BU, examining animal bones and bats.

“I remember always being amazed by his attention to detail despite him having the messiest desk imaginable,” Porter said in an interview. “I would come in and he would ask about my activities, ask about my interests and share.”

Kunz taught her to appreciate people’s roles in the ecosystem, Porter said. It was thanks to the “magic of Kunz,” that she became motivated to advocate for nature.

Kunz’s colleagues praised him both personally and professionally.

“He is recognized as one of the leading researchers in the world when it comes to bats. He’s written several books about bats. He’s studied just about everything one could imagine about bats,” said professor Michael Sorenson, chair of the biology department.

Hundreds of colleagues, researchers and activists in the fields, along with former students and friends, have written to Kunz on the website and said they support his work and hope he recovers soon. One woman from Australia, Moni Rhodes, called Kunz “an inspiration in the ‘bat’ world.”

As of Monday night, the page had more than 7,078 visits.

“He’s been working with bats for so long and he knows everything there is to know about them,” said earth sciences professor Rick Murray. “He’s a model for a lot of us [scientists] in the sense of sticking to it and seeing problems all the way to the end. He’s a real interesting mentor.”

Murray said Kunz helps connect professors of different specialties by “seeing things that unite us and things where we can sort of help each other out.”

Students and colleagues said they hope Kunz has a swift recovery.

“I hope more than anything he gets better soon. He’s a great teacher and there are still many people out there that need his guidance,” Porter said.