Piotr Doniec (1987-2012)

It is with great sadness that we learned about the tragic loss of our valued technical student and friend Piotr Doniec. He was taken from us on 29 April, at the age of 25, while following his passion for mountaineering during a descent in the French Alps, near Thônes.

Piotr was a fifth year student of Computer Science at the Warsaw University of Technology, who came to CERN’s TE department in July 2011 as a technical student. Selected for his wide-ranging skills, he quickly integrated into our team and became our reference for the software aspects of magnetic measurement technology. He was always eager to face difficult tasks and challenges and was known to everyone as a dependable and helpful colleague. During his stay he succeeded in creating a number of software components that are essential to our work and that we will keep using for a long time to come.

It is always a challenge for any young person to leave his familiar surroundings, loved ones and friends, and to adapt linguistically and culturally to a foreign setting. Yet Piotr managed this with great skill while pursuing his career dreams. As climbing was his greatest passion, he enjoyed his stay at CERN not only for professional reasons. Piotr was known for often choosing the harder route, embodying the words of John Paul II: “Demand of yourselves, even when no one else demands of you.” His curiosity about life would never allow him to stay idle; he traveled vast distances on his bicycle reaching places considered hardly accessible. Some of his photos and stories can be found at his blog: http://pejotr-w-cern.blogspot.com/.

Piotr was a beloved son, brother and fiancé, and a faithful and trustworthy friend. We remain grateful for his all too brief stay with us. All of his workmates and colleagues here at CERN wish to express their profound sorrow and heartfelt sympathy to his family.

His colleagues and friends