Paul Falk-Vairant, 1921-2001

Paul Falk-Vairant died on 9 March 2001, a few weeks before his eightieth birthday. A physicist with dual Swiss and French nationality, he left his mark on particle physics in France and had a great impact on the development of CERN. Educated at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic at Zürich, Paul Falk-Vairant arrived in France in 1947 to study for a thesis at the Radium Institute in Paris. Up until 1973, he was employed successively by the French CNRS, CEA and the University of Paris. During the same period, he came to lead the first experiment at CERN run by physicists from outside institutes at the PS. In 1971, he chaired the ECFA (European Committee for Future Accelerators) working group on SPS physics. It was therefore natural for CERN in 1972 to invite him to take over its research policy. From 1973 to 1976, he occupied the position of Director of Physics I Department at CERN before becoming Research Director for the whole of CERN until 1978. At the same time Paul Falk-Vairant guided the experimental programme of SPS. He also contributed to the development of an antiproton source for the SPS, so as to be able to undertake collisions between matter and antimatter, a project whose success was far from being assured but which was in due course rewarded with a Nobel Prize for Physics. In 1981, Falk-Vairant left CERN but remained involved in its policies by becoming a member of the Laboratory's Scientific Policy Committee. He went back to France to take up the position of Assistant Scientific Director of IN2P3 (the French National Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics). In that position, which he held until retirement, he led the participation of IN2P3 in LEP and supported the commitment of the institute in the UA1 and UA2 experiments. It was also due to his efforts that IN2P3 came to acquire a high level centralized computing system. With his very personal management style, stamped by his strong convictions, his directness of approach with interlocutors, and his presentations with their trademark striking turns of phrase and theatrical gestures, Paul Falk-Vairant left an imprint on French particle physics, contributing to the development of a discernible and lasting science policy.
 

'I was always impressed by his calm, his balanced vision of things, and his deep feeling for what was possible. To that was added a convivial ease of interaction, and I can still hear his 'hello friends' resonating at the beginning of potentially delicate meetings. He knew well how to maintain a firm grip on the helm, all the while remaining a man of dialogue and personal contacts.'