Daniel Bois (1929-2008)

We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of our former colleague, Daniel Bois, at his home in Crozet on 27 March, in his 79th year.

Daniel Bois, trained in precision mechanics, arrived at CERN in November 1954 and was assigned to the Central Workshop. His remarkable talent for precision measurements prompted his then boss to point him in the direction of the Survey Group, which was working on the construction of the PS at the time. He remained with this Group until he retired.

His flair for measurements and his constant need to create and invent led him to fabricate novel tools for aligning the magnets of the PS or the ISR, even if this meant challenging the conventional methods of the day. One of his inventions was the "distinvar", a length-measuring tool that was widely used up until the construction of LEP. We are also indebted to Daniel for the use of stretched wires to align magnets, a technique that is still intensively used today in all CERN machines, especially the LHC. In parallel, he was to build the Group’s calibration bench and develop many handy accessories that made life considerably easier for the Group’s surveyors. J. Gervaise wrote about Daniel: "It is absolutely certain that the Metrology Group would have a different physiognomy without the intelligence and efficiency of Bois." For Daniel passed on to his colleagues a unique precision measurement culture allied to simplicity of method.

Daniel was also an aviation fanatic, an experienced pilot who built his own aircraft and looped-the-loop with brio. For many years, his favourite pastime was, as he would put it, "going and burning a little bit of kerosene here and a little bit there". His imagination knew no bounds and, throughout his life, he created and invented all manner of items in all manner of fields.

His straight talking could throw you off balance, but anyone who was willing to show a genuine interest in his activities or favourite topics would truly delight in receiving his explanations and advice. We are left with the memory of a passionate inventor, always happy to pass his knowledge on to others.

We offer our sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy to his wife.

His friends and former colleagues of the Survey Group