I did my post-doc with Francois Diederich in Zurich. 68 is really too young. He was an inspiration to me in many ways.
A brilliant insightful physical organic chemist, his team made marvellous molecules to probe fundamental interactions. He became fascinated with applying supramolecular principles in medicinal chemistry - it really inspired me to try & solve real-world problems with my chemistry.
Every year at the Christmas party, he talked with passion about chemistry & his pride in the group. Except the year he took his teenage son on sabbatical to Israel. The usual chemistry lecture was dropped and he shared photos & stories of the quality time he'd spent with his son.
Just over a year ago was his retirement symposium in Zurich, and tragically I could not attend because my husband had just passed away. He still took the time to reach out to me. And now he is gone as well.
A brilliant scientist with an incisive mind - driven to solve problems - but maintaining his humanity. He will be missed.
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