Michael Niegl (1985-2009)
Our friend and colleague Michael Niegl died in a tragic accident in the first hours of the new year.
Michael was a Master’s student in Microsystems Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt. He was responsible for the development of the ATLAS Beam Conditions Monitor (BCM) ROD FPGA firmware, which acquires the data from the BCM detector modules and provides online monitoring of the LHC beams within the ATLAS experiment.
He spent several months at CERN to carry out beam tests on the BCM detectors and received his Bachelor of Science with first class honours for his thesis: Concept and Implementation of an FPGA-based Data Recorder and Processor for the ATLAS Beam Conditions Monitor.
Michael spent six months at CERN last year to finish the development and commissioning of the ROD firmware for the first beam. He worked the entire night of 10 September to fine tune the system for the first beam. It was a joy to see the first beams in the ATLAS control room with him.
First and foremost, Michael was a great friend, not only in the control room, but especially during our Friday evenings, spending joyful hours with us, always listening to our stories and sharing the latest funny anecdotes.
Michael was sweet, honest and able to make everybody feel at ease.
Michael loved life and the future, and we are sure he would like to see all his friends happy, because he was that kind of person, able to see the positive side of everything. He was certainly never short of a joke and a good laugh - having the ability to bring a smile to many faces, all in all a good friend to many of us. He will forgive us if, instead, we are all very sad.
Michael should have arrived here at CERN on 5 January to start a six-month Technical Student period to commission the BCM RODs for the next beams and write his master’s thesis.
His joyful yet hard-working attitude will always remain in our memories.
He will be missed.
Our thoughts and condolences at this sad time go to his parents, his family, his many friends and colleagues.
His friends and colleagues at CERN
