Personal tools
Document Actions
old-Condolances
I am so depressed to hear that one of my best friends died suddenly. It is a loss for
the ICTP community, Trieste University, Trieste, Italy, and the whole optics community
as well as his family. I cannot say in words what he has done for scientists who came to
know him. I think we lost him but we did not lose him as a model in our life.
Gallieno was a very pleasant and accommodating personality.
May the LORD comfort his family!
J.O. Adeniyi
Physics Department
University of Ilorin
P.M.B. 1515
Ilorin
Kwara State
Nigeria
very distressing. Professor Denardo was a friend of Jordan and Jordanian Physicists and
Mathematicians. May God rest his soul in peace! I will announce his death in the
Jordanian Times newspaper.
Thank you for this information.
Yours,
Mashhour Ibrahim Al Ali
Department of Mathematics
Mutah University
P.O. Box 7
Mutah
Alkarak
Jordan
great loss to us. It is a great loss to the ICTP community. We really lost a great father.
Sincerely,
Bashir Ali
Mathematics Department
Bayero University
P.M.B. 3011
Kano
Nigeria
Gallieno.
I have known him for a period of over thirty years. He was more than a friend. He
was very helpful, optimistic and championed the cause of development of science in
Africa, particularly the study of Laser Physics. He paid special attention to young people
and promoted the interest of women and disadvantaged scientists. He had time for
everybody. His office was always full of young scientists seeking advice which he readily
gave. Gallieno was an excellent unofficial Ambassador of the Abdus Salam International
Centre for Theoretical Physics in the developing countries. He worked very hard for the
development of science in the developing countries in his position as head of the Office
of External Activities. I send my deepest condolences to his family and the ICTP
Community.
We shall miss him.
Francis K. Allotey
Society of African Physicists & Mathematicians
P.O. Box 197
LegonAccra
Ghana
me and the ALOP team:
We were deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the death of our friend and
colleague Gallieno Denardo on the 23rd July. We would like to extend our sincerest
condolences to his family and his colleagues at ICTP.
We were very fortunate to have worked with Gallieno during the planning phase of
this UNESCO project on Active Learning in Optics and Photonics (ALOP) and we
warmly remember his enthusiastic and skillful support to the project. He was a very kind
person who was always willing to give his time and knowledge to help physics education,
especially in developing countries.
We are deeply saddened that we will not have him around us anymore.
Minella Alarcon (UNESCO), Alex Mazzolini (Australia), Zohra Ben Lakhdar
(Tunisia), Souad Lahmar (Tunisia), Vengu Lakshminarayanan (USA), David
Sokoloff (USA), Ivan Culaba (Philippines), Joel Maquiling (Philippines)
express my heartfelt condolences to his wife, you and to ICTP.
Professor Denardo was a good friend of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
(GAEC). We continue to cherish his duty visits to Ghana (GAEC, University of Cape
Coast, etc) and the numerous instances of assistance he gave us. We pray that the GOOD
LORD will keep his soul in perfect peace and cause his good works to mankind to follow
him.
With much love and prayers!
John H. Amuasi
Coordinator/Dean, School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences
University of Ghana and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
Accra
Ghana
we have lost a real force for good in the world. It was an honor to present him with SPIE’s
Educator Award, a token of the respect in which we held him and his contributions. His
genuine interest in the less fortunate through the world and what he did to try to improve
conditions through advancing their scientific infrastructure was inspirational to me and
many in SPIE. I very much enjoyed working with him and hope that we can continue his
good work in some way.
I want you to know that the SPIE leadership is anxious and willing to sustain and
support the optics activities at the ICTP. The sudden loss of our dear friend may put an
additional burden on you. Let us know how we could help.
Sincerely,
Eugene G. Arthurs
CEO
SPIE
Denardo. Indeed ICTP has lost, forever, one of its most loyal friends. Please accept my
heartfelt condolences. May his soul rest in perfect peace!
Alex Asante
University of Cape Coast
Computer Centre
Cape Coast
Ghana
of times, but I'm sure he was a great scientist and person.
Best regards,
Darya Bairasheuskaya
International Sakharov Environmental University (ISEU)
Dolgobrodskaya Str.
P.O. Box 23
220009 Minsk
Belarus
you my most sincere condolences and deepest sympathy on this big loss. I wish to extend
my deepest sympathy to all ICTP staff, all national scientists, researchers and
academicians, and all the international scientific community.
A. Barhadi
Head of PSES Laboratory
Head of the Physics Department
Ecole Normale Supérieure
P.O.Box. 5118
Takaddoum
Rabat
Morocco
sincere condolences to his family, his friends and all those who knew him. That God has
his heart.
Farida Bentayeb
Département de Physique
Faculté des Sciences
Avenue Ibn Battota
Rabat
Morocco
Gallieno Denardo.
We will remember him as an enthusiastic physicist.
Robert Blinc & the Jozef Stefan Institute
The Jozef Stefan Institute
Jamova 39
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Denardo. I therefore wish to use this medium to extend my sincere sympathy to the
bereaved family and the entire scientific community over there.
May his soul find rest in perfect peace!
With deep regards,
Brice Rodrigue Malonda Boungou
Université MarienNgouabi
Faculté des Sciences
Département de Physique
B.P. 69
Brazzaville
People's Republic of Congo
wanted to come to ICTP but with difficulty and I advised him to get the POP off first. I
am not lucky. The end has become painful for me. I am left alone. What happened? A
great loss to us in Africa and me especially! I am down with fever and now recovering.
Paul K. BuahBassuah
Laser and Fibre Optics Centre (LAFOC)
Department of Physics
University of Cape Coast
Cape Coast
Ghana
personal loss.
Gallieno has been not only an excellent and dedicated promoter of scientific
cooperation particularly for the benefit of the poorer countries, but also and above all a
human being with a big heart which never failed when it came to sharing it with others.
He will be greatly missed.
Ana Maria Cetto
DDG
Division of Technical Cooperation Programme
IAEA
Wagramerstrasse 5
P.O. Box 100
Vienna
Austria
our colleague and friend Gallieno Denardo. He was a special person devoted to the
activity in favour of persons from developing countries.
As SIOF representative in the TSOSA committee, I will do my best to continue
supporting the optics activity started by Gallieno.
Anna Consortini
University of Firenze
Italy
did hurt me and how sad and sick I feel. I can imagine your email box is full of letters
expressing similar feelings, as Gallieno was a person of a great human and professional
value for many scientists.
This is just to confirm that I would be happy if I could pay my tribute to Professor
Denardo by continuing to work along the lines that I have been following lately with his
advices (STEP students supervision, preparation of some advanced optics training setups,
etc). Professor Denardo was doing practically alone most of the work on the ICTP Winter
College organization, however he has been discussing with me some issues like subjects
to be included in the programme, selection of participants, demonstrations and laboratory
work, visits, etc. I could give a hand to the college directors in the completion of the
college organization, if you think this would be useful.
Sincerely yours,
Miltcho Danailov
Laser Laboratory
SincrotroneTrieste
SS14, km.163.5, 34012Trieste, Italy
soul live in peace. I lost a very good mentor. I got his last mail only a week ago. It was a
big blow to know his sudden death. Good people always pass away like that. Please
convey my condolences to the bereaved family.
Prasanta P.K Datta
Department of Physics & Meteorology
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur 721 302
India
Tony DeMaria
1981 OSA President
person and he supported our initiative for collaboration in the Balkans and Southeast
Europe very strongly.
If there is any way to give our condolence to his family, collaborators and friends, I
would ask you to assist in that.
With my deep condolence to you, sincerely,
Goran Djordjevic
Facuty of Sciences
P.O. Box 224
18001 Nis
Serbia
Gallieno died so suddenly. I lost a most loyal and kind colleague at ICTP and its scientific
community and I would like to share the sorrow of his immediate family.
I feel so sorry for all of us.
Alberto Donà
Former ICTP staff member
family, friends, and colleagues of Professor Gallieno Denardo. Professor Denardo was a
good citizen and aggressive advocate of ICTP programmes and will be greatly missed.
We, the members of EBASI, are deeply saddened by his death.
EBASI Council Members
Milton D. Slaughter
University of Khartoum, in order to express our deepest grief and sorrow on the passing
of Professor G. Denardo also to show our sympathy to the physics community all over
the world on our greatest loss.
Professor Denardo will be remembered among us as a man of wisdom, courage and
help. Please accept our condolences.
Yours,
Omer I. Eid
Head, Physics Department
University of Khartoum
Sudan
Professor Gallieno Denardo, the intimate friend of the Sudanese scientific community.
The entire Sudanese laser group at the Sudan Institute for Natural Sciences has received
this very bad news with great sorrow. Please pass our deep condolences to his immediate
family and to all his colleagues in the ICTP and specially his coworkers at the Office of
External Activities (OEA).
Sharaf El Din and
Amna Sirelkhatim
Sudan Institute For Natural Sciences (SIFNS)
P.O. Box 3045
Khartoum
Sudan
friend and longstanding close collaborator, Gallieno Denardo. Gallieno was a motivated
promoter of science in the developing world, helping young people to build their careers,
and helping more advanced researchers to connect and to work together. Throughout his
many years nurturing the ICTP training programme, he helped to create the entire global
community of talented physicists, who will always remember him as somebody they had
great fortune to meet on their scientific way. In general, Gallieno will be fondly
remembered by all who had the pleasure to know him and work with him. He
participated in many activities run by ICTP together with UNESCO SC. When he learned
about SESAME, for instance, he became immediately involved and enthusiastic. He was
a member of the first SESAME Training Committee, formed in 1999. ICTP will never be
the same without Gallieno. We join you in mourning this unexpected and premature loss.
Yours sincerely,
W. Erdelen
Assistant DirectorGeneral for Natural Sciences
UNESCO
fellows, and had many friends all over the world. His contribution to the scientific
community will remain for ever.
Best regards.
Mohamed Ewiss
Professor of Physics
Director of HEQAA
Faculty of Science
Cairo University
Giza, Egypt
disappeared with his lovely loud laugh? What loss for the whole ICTP family! What loss
for us at IMSP in Benin! He was one of the greatest authors of the setting up of IMSP
since its starting point in 1988. So far he did a lot for its development. He also put a lot of
time and effort into the access of the African young people to science during these last
twenty years.
We share the pain of Director Sreenivasan and that of ICTP members. We have a
compassionate thought to the immediate family of Gallieno Denardo.
God welcome Gallieno's Soul.
JeanPierre Ezin
Institut de Mathematiques et de Sciences Physiques (IMPS)
B.P. 613
Porto Novo
Benin
Office of International Affairs.
Amy K. Flatten
The American Physical Society
One Physics Ellipse
College Park
Maryland 207403844
USA
I extend my condolences to all staff members at the ICTP as well as to his family. It is a
great pity for the ICTP and the University of Trieste to lose such a very active and
valuable eminent professor. He was helping the researchers from the developing countries
in all manners possible. I am one of them who will never forget his great help to me such
as my participation in most of the winter colleges on atomic, molecular and laser physics
at the beginning of my research career at Cairo university. Later on, I was appointed also
by his kind influence as an associate member so it gave me more opportunity to pay
frequent visits to the ICTP. These visits allowed me to meet eminent professors who were
invited to the scientific activities which were organized by Professor Denardo on lasers
and discuss my scientific problems with them. These visits in turn promoted my scientific
career so I could occupy high posts at the National Institute of Laser Enhanced Science
(NILES) which was established at Cairo University in 1994 with advanced laser
equipment and detection systems that can be used for different applications. Moreover, he
tried to push this institute to be a centre of excellence for laser science and its
applications, particularly for the African and Arabic countries, where he supported some
very successful scientific activities to be held at Niles. In fact, he did a lot, so all that I
can say now is: may the mercy of GOD cover him.
Yosr Gamal
Prof.Yosr E ED Gamal
Al TAAWEN Residental Palace
P.O.Box 18703 Jeddah 21425
Saudi Arabia
perdre un grand ami comme professeur Denardo. C'etait pour moi un ami et un père à la
fois. Il nous a aidés et secourus lorsque les choses allaient vraiment mal à Alger; il nous a
fait pratiquement évacuer d'Alger et nous a offer un refuge à Trieste. Fairouz et moi, nous
ne l'oublierons jamais. Je n'arrive même pas à accepter le fait de me retrouver à l'ICTP
sans rencontrer Gallieno. Je suis sûr que ce sentiment est partagé par la majorité des amis
de l'ICTP. Je compte venir à Trieste le 1 septembre pour visiter la tombe de Gallieno et
faire le deuil de sa mort.
L'équipe de "external activities" est l'image du professor Denardo et nous devons
préserver son esprit en travaillant et en maintenant les mêmes motivations qui l'ont
toujours animé.
Oui, j'ai mis du temps pour te répondre mais c'était plus fort que moi et j'espère que
tu vas me pardonner. C'était un choc terrible et horrible. Avant de terminer, je vais écrire
au directeur de l'ICTP et lui proposer de donner le nom du Professeur Denardo au Winter
College of Optics. J'en ai déjà parlé à Ahmadou Wague et il partage mon idée.
Taieb Gasmi
Unidad de Lasers y Haces Moleculares
Instituto Pluridisciplinar
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Paseo Juan XXIII, 1
28040 Madrid
Spain
feeling of loss and grief. He had tremendous influence on my development as a scientist
and professional and had also, over the past twenty years, grown to be a good friend. I
know that he had similar influence on many other ICTP Associates and other researchers
and students from developing countries who benefited from the programs in optics that he
fashioned.
It is difficult for me as an individual to articulate my sense of loss. The word
unspeakable describes my feelings as well as any. As a Senior Associate I hear the word
orphaned in my mind, and indeed, I think that many other Associates and beneficiaries of
ICTP’s activities in optics will feel similarly deprived of—cut off from—the enormous
support and encouragement that Gallieno gave us in our professional careers and
initiatives. Gallieno was the bridge between optical scientists in developing countries,
numerous members of the worldwide scientific community of researchers and educators
in optics and lasers, and the central ICTP leadership. That bridge is now gone.
As the Chair of the TSOSA Committee, which on Gallieno’s behalf has had
responsibility for advising ICTP in the area of optics activities, I care deeply that his
longterm efforts and achievements survive him and that his and the Committee’s
expectations for the establishment of a permanent research program in optics at ICTP be
realized. I can think of no better way of honoring his memory than through the continuity
and further development of his programs and the ultimate achievement of his goals. I
speak in this regard not only for myself but, I am certain, for all members of the
Committee representing major international scientific and technical societies and
organizations concerned with optics. Please know that we are prepared to work with you
in all possible ways to see the continuation of Gallieno Denardo’s legacy and the
furthering of his cause.
In closing, let me ask you to convey, on my behalf and that of an enormous number
of people in the international community of optics, sincere condolences to Gallieno’s
family.Sincerely,
Angela M. Guzmán
Profesor Emerito
Departamento de Fisica
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
ICO VicePresident, Chair,
Committee for Regional Development of Optics
USA
Denardo.
As you know ISP at Uppsala University is an organisation trying to assist
developing countries to build research capacity up within the basic sciences. Through
this work I came to know Gallieno many years back and I also had the privilege to work
with him as a member of the "advisory committee" of the "Office of External Activities".
Gallieno was a respected physicist. We are many who will remember him for his
seriousness in his work to assist physicists in developing countries. He was a very warm
and generous person and though him many physicists in developing countries got the
opportunity to do research work. His special interest in optics has meant that especially
laser physics has been introduced in many places. His work will not be forgotten. The
research environments to which he contributed a lot will continue to produce MSc and
PhD theses and scientific articles.
His death is a great loss to the scientific community and especially to scientists in
developing countries.
Please convey our deepest sympathy to his family.
For ISP, Uppsala University, but also as a personal friend,
Lennart Hasselgren
IPPS
Uppsala University
Box 549
SE751 21 Uppsala
Sweden
Since I have received the bad news I am always remembering Professor Denardo who has
helped me and many others. I remember him as a nice person, helpful and brave man.
May God rest his soul in heaven, Amen.
Please accept my sincere condolences on his death and pass them to his familly.
Akram Ibrahim
Department of Physics
University of Khartoum
P.O. Box 321
Khartoum
Sudan
having first met at ICTP in 1989. I have found him to be one of the warmest and caring
individuals that I have ever met and we fast became friends. The ICTP outreach
programs have lost a tireless friend, mentor and benevolent instigator in Gallieno—I can't
image who could fill his very large shoes!
Anthony M. Johnson
2002 OSA President
Pr. Denardo.
Nous n'avons aucune peine à imaginer la profonde douleur dans laquelle nous
plonge ce triste évènement.
Nous n'y sommes pas préparés d'autant plus que je l'ai eu au telephone il y a 10
jours juste avant mon retour. Il me renouvelait ses encouragements pour ce que nous
faisions tant il y croyait autant sinon plus que nous.
C'est un grand Africain que nous venons de perdre.
Partageons notre tristesse, notre douleur car elles seraient insupportables autrement.
Sincerement et amicalement.
Melanie Keita
JocelyneBosson
Eugene Megnassan
Université AboboAdjame
02 BP 801
Abidjan 02
Côte d'Ivoire
Denardo on his sudden untimely departure from this world. May Almighty God grant to
all of you the courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss, and perfect peace to the
departed soul!
You have rightly mentioned that one must value the presence of his friend(s). One
feels much more on the departure of his friend than his relatives because he is more
intimate and close to his friend.
With kind regards,
Yours truly,
Reyaz Khan
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Federal University of Technology
Minna
PMB 65
Niger State
Nigeria
seems to me that this space will remain empty for long.
To me especially—as you know for sure—he did great favours and helped me a lot.
May God keep his soul in rest and peace and may give the courage of bearing this
great lost to everybody who liked him.
Alireza Moradi Koshkabadi
Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS)
Gava Zang
P.O. Box 45195159
45195 Zanjan
Iran
showering encomiums on Professor Dernado in your presence at the dinner for the 'Africa
Day'—because of the honourable mention he got from various speakers that day for his
remarkable contributions to ICTP and in particular the creation of enduring research
institutions on optics in Africa. It is difficult to now imagine that I was in fact talking to
him for the last time.
ICTP, and indeed the third world and Italy, have lost a great man who cannot be
adequately replaced but suffice it to say that his highly productive and inspiring life is a
great legacy that will make his memory very fresh and indelible in the minds of his many
wellwishers across the globe.
Please extend my condolences to members of his family.
With best regards,
Aderemi Kuku
University of Iowa
Iowa State, Iowa
USA
believe that he will no longer be with us. We will miss him a lot.
Vladimir Kurghinyan
Division for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific
IAEA
Wagramerstrasse 5
P.O. Box 100
Vienna
Austria
away two weeks ago. I feel so sad with his sudden death. He did so much for the
promotion of science and education in our country. We are very grateful to him and
remember him for that.
Nguyen Anh Ky
Vietnam Academy of Sciences & Technology (VAST)
Institute of Physics and Electronics
10 Dao Tan
Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Vietnam
nous tous: je dois signaler que le développement de la cooperation Sud Sud qu'il a
soutenu et permis de se développer avec le Cameroun, le Maroc, l'Egypte, a ete pour nous
une opération exceptionnelle. Il a créé une grande famille, une famille du monde entier
qui se retrouve tous les ans. Il était prêt à aider à tout moment. Je n'ai pas de mots pour
exprimer ma reconnaissance pour Denardo. C'etait un grand homme. Je suis actuellement
au Brésil pour un workshop: ALOP. Il en fait partie par son attitude toujours positive et
encourageante pour le développement de l'optique.
Bien cordialement et toutes mes condoléances pour ICTP.
Zohra Ben Lakhdar
Department of Physics
Faculty of Sciences
University of Tunis II
Campus University
Tunis 1060
Tunisia
tremendous help during my Multiciencias years.
Please pass my condolences to the Director and the Centre staff.
Victor Latorre
Universidad Ricardo Palma
Centro de Investigación
Avenida Benavides 5440
Lima 33, Perú
Abdus Salam's grand design at ICTP.
Irving A. Lerch
1733 Riggs Place, NW
Washington, DC 20009
USA
OPN, I feel great sadness to hear this sad news. Professor Denardo has ever made great
contributions to the ICTP and our optics community. His sudden passing is a great loss
for us. With this email, I'd like to express my personal condolence on his passing, and to
join the science community in mourning his loss.
Changsheng Li
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Yours,
Zeng Luo Wang
Department of Physics
School of Science
Xian Jiaotong University
Xianning Road
Xian 710049
People's Republic of China
PROFESSORI.
I can confirm that mother Africa specifically and the Developing World in general
has lost an ICONE: EL PROFESSORI.
Well, if the nature has decided to do so, we shall accept but certain humans can
leave this world physically but not in mind.
"Les Etres sont grands par les pas qu'ils font, leurs destinée, c'est d'aller portant
l'arche, ce n'est pas d'atteindre le but mais de rester en marche".
I hope that the Abdus Salam ICTP and other partner institutions with all associates
would be joining hand to hand in honoring EL PROFESSORI for ever.
May God bless!
Malik Maaza
iTHEMBA Labs.
P O Box 722
Somerset West, 7129
Cape Province
South Africa
Professor Denardo represented my entry contact to the Abdus Salam ICTP, when I
participated in the 1985 Winter College on Lasers and Spectroscopy. He encouraged me
to apply for the Associateship award, and supported my application. Afterwards, he
invited me to participate in several LAMP seminars. As director of the Office of External
activities, Professor Denardo supported me in different activities. For these, and many
other reasons, I consider myself in the group of physicists more badly affected for the
absence of Professor Denardo. I will always remember him with my highest gratitude.
Best regards,
Jorge Mahecha
Instituto de Fisica
Universidad de Antioquia
Calle 67 No. 53108
A.A. 1226
Medellin
Colombia
passed away. He has been such a great help for scientific communication between Iran
and the rest of the world via ICTP. How sad it is!
Reza Mansouri
Sharif University of Technology
Department of Physics
P.O. Box 113659161
Azadi Ave.
Tehran 145888949
Islamic Republic of Iran
made me very sad! He dedicated his life to education and improvement of physics,
especially Optical Physics. The Winter Colleges on Optics and Photonics, which were
organised by him, had a large impact on physicists from around the world.
Professor Denardo was a great person. He was very nice and kind. The ICTP
community, specially the Associates of ICTP, lost a great colleague, the person who was
always trying to help somebody.
Arashmid Nahal
University of Tehran
Faculty of Science
Department of Physics
North Karegar Ave.
P.O. Box 14395547
14394 Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
am so grateful that he helped me a lot from the beginning of the fellowship and even
afterwards in order to make the visits as advantageous as possible. He also supported me
to attend the ICTP optics winter colleges three times. Three to four times it happened that
he called me "my old young friend". Now when I remember the way in which he said
this, I feel I miss him.
We missed a great friend of our world forever, in my opinion.
Alireza Moradi
Institute for Advanced Studies in
Basic Sciences (IASBS)
Gava Zang
P.O. Box 45195159
Zanjan
Iran
have met him many times during my visits to ICTP as well as in connection with my
request for the financing of our dissemination activities—workshops and conferences
here in Costa Rica. Every time I requested money, he always approved some and gave
moral support. I even met him only 3 weeks ago and found him well and still active
working at his ICTP office. Well that's the life.
I wish and pray that Almighty God give peace to his soul and courage to his family
to accept this unpredictable and unfortunately unavoidable part of the life.
Sincerely yours,
Shyam S. Nandwani
Professor
Lab. de Energia Solar
Dept. de Fisica,
Universidad Nacional, Heredia.
Costa Rica
communauté scientifique mondiale mais surtout pour la communauté Africaine a qui il a
bien su donner son soutien pour que vive à jamais la Science en Afrique. Nous n'avons
pas perdu qu'un soutien, mais aussi un conseiller, un père et surtout une Référence.
Que la terre de nos Ancêtres lui soit légère!
Merlin Ngachin
Centre de Physique Atomique Moléculaire Optique Quantique (CEPAMOQ)
Faculté des Sciences
Université de Douala
B.P. 8580
Douala
Cameroon
subite du Professeur Denardo. Je n'en reviens pas à ce jour à croire à son décès effectif. Je
revois en image ce très grand éminant Professeur doué d'une générosité sans précédent.
Toujours à l'écoute des autres et prêt à apporter son appui constant au développement des
pays moins nantis. Cette disparition est une perte énorme pour la communauté
scientifique, l'Italie, l'ICTP et encore plus pour l'Afrique à qui il accordait son soutien.
Je suis en larme en t'envoyant, ainsi qu'à l'ICTP, ce message de condoléance auquel
j'associe l'expression de ma profonde compassion et douleur.
Le professeur Denardo, pour ces quelques années que je l'ai connu m'a
profondement marqué par son humanisme. Sans pourtant exagérer, je le prenais pour un
père. Ses nombreuses oeuvres resteront à jamais gravées dans des mémoires. Nous
continuerons de les perpétuer pour saluer sa mémoire.
Hugues Merlain Tetchou Nganso
Faculty of Science
University of Yaoundé I
Yaoundé
Cameroon
littéralement choqué et effondré à la lecture de votre message. C'est un moment de peine
immense pour moi, semblable à celle que j'ai connue lors du decès de mon père il y a
quelques années. Pour avoir travaillé avec le Professeur Denardo pendant plus d'une
décennie, je puis dire que son decès est une véritable catastrophe pour l'Afrique. J'ai
toujours été profondement marqué par la place toute particulière que ce continent
occupait dans le coeur du Professeur Denardo. Comme j'ai eu à le dire dans les
universités d'Afrique Centrale que j'ai visitées depuis janvier 2006 dans le cadre du
rayonnement régional du CEPAMOQ, sans le Professeur Denardo j'aurai quitté l'Afrique
au milieu des années 1990. Je ne peux exprimer combien nous apprecions la présence du
Professeur Denardo à nos côtés. Son seul nom, un simple message de sa part, nous
rassuraient et nous motivaient quelque soit le problème à résoudre. Il n'y a pas de terme
pour qualifier ce qu'il representait pour nous en qui il avait placé une certaine confiance
dans la formation des capacités humaines dans nos pays à travers les Centres Affiliés.
Nous lui seront redevables à jamais pour cette oeuvre immense à laquelle il a consacre
toute sa vie. Au dela de son soutien constant pour un enracinement durable de la science
dans nos pays en développement, le Professeur Denardo était un grand humaniste, et
probablement l'homme le plus généreux que j'aie jamais connu. Sa mémoire se perpetuera
à travers ce que nous entreprenons dans le domaine de la formation et dont il était
indeniablement la cheville ouvrière.
En cette circonstance douloureuse, je vous prie de transmettre à sa famille et à
l'ICTP si durement éprouvés, les condoléances les plus attristées des chercheurs, étudiants
et personnel d'appui du CEPAMOQ auxquelles j'associe l'expression de ma profonde
compassion.
Moise Kwato Njock
Centre de Physique Atomique Moléculaire Optique Quantique (CEPAMOQ)
Faculté des Sciences
Université de Douala
B.P. 8580
Douala
Cameroon
collaborators and friends.
The passing of Professor Denardo is not only a big loss for those who have known
him but for the entire research community.
Sincerely,
Lukas Novotny
University of Rochester
The Institute of Optics
River Campus, Wilmot Bldg.
Rochester, NY 14627
USA
death. On behalf of our president, Professor Roberta Ramponi, we would like to express
our deepest sympathy for this great loss. We had the honor and the pleasure to know
Professor Denardo and were very sorry to hear about his passing away. We had the
greatest respect for his valued work for the ICTP.
With affection and deepest condolences,
Klaus Nowitzki
Executive Director
European Optical Society
Professor G. Denardo.
I am a fellow of the Sandwich Training Educational Programme which he headed
until his death. Professor Denardo was always cheerful and kind hearted.
May his soul rest in perfect peace!
Please accept my sympathy,
Folasade Olajuyigbe
Department of Chemistry
School of Sciences
Federal University of Technology
Akure
Ondo State
Nigeria
With great sadness, we share the news of the sudden passing of Gallieno Denardo.
We've lost a friend of the OSA and the optics community. Denardo was the coordinator of
the optics and laser programs at Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
(ICTP) and professor of theoretical physics at the University of Trieste, Italy. Denardo had
been with the ICTP since its start, serving as the longtime head of the Office of External
Activities and consultant of the office. He was instrumental in establishing and running
all ICTP activities on optics, including the laboratory, the schools and workshops, and the
ICO/ICTP Award.
Denardo led the ICTP Winter College, which OSA cosponsors and many of our
members from around the world attend. He was a long time friend and OSA supporter
and we join the science community in mourning his loss.
in Trieste yesterday. It is a great loss for all of us and for the scientific community.
We present our sincere condolences to his family, friends and all the staff of the
Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics on the occasion of untimely
death of Prof. Denardo.
Profoundly mourning,
Valentin A. Orlovich
Head of Laboratory of nonlinear optics
B.I.Stepanov Institute of Physics
National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
68 Nezalezhnasti Ave., 220072 Minsk
Belarus
let me tell you that I share the sorrow of the entire ICTP community.
Yours sincerely,
Luc Owono Owono
Department of Physics
Ecole Normale Supérieure
The University of Yaounde I
P.O. Box 47
Yaoundé
Cameroon
Professor Gallieno Denardo. He has been a wellknown and respected member of the
international scientific community in optics and laser physics for many years, and will be
remembered as an extremely pleasant and effective scientist. Professor Denardo will be
remembered by all who knew or worked with him for his thoughtful stewardship of the
numerous programmes of the OEA, his genuine concern for fostering the next generation
of young scientists in developing countries and his sense of humour. He will be greatly
missed by all his friends and colleagues in Belarus.
Alexander Pankov
Head of the ICTP Affiliated Centre
Gomel, Belarus
Andrei Tsytrinov and Inna Serenkova (STEP students)
"Laurea" students at the University of Trieste; he was the supervisor of my "tesina", an
essay that all students at the University of Trieste in the '90s had to write in addition to
their main "tesi" in order to graduate with the Bachelor's degree. Because of him and his
initiatives I was able to discover the rich world of optics and lasers. We remained in close
contact after my Laurea, and he supported and encouraged me much in the doctoral
studies in Optics which I am pursuing at the University of Rochester in the US. Above all
he transmitted to me, every time that I talked to him, the sense of the importance and
seriousness of scientific work, and he has been a constant example with his passion for
work and for things; and besides this he helped me to understand, both with his constant
example and with his explanations of many situations, the sense of the ICTP mission. He
was an important person for my life, and the memory of him remains to me as an
invaluable reference point.
Giovanni Piredda
University of Rochester
The Institute of Optics
River Campus, Wilmot Bldg.
Rochester, NY 14627
USA
Directors and Education Committee will meet at the end of August and they will be
discussing 2008 program support. SPIE is planning to continue our longterm financial
support of the Winter College and would like to offer assistance in program development
if needed.
Our organisation was also working with Gallieno on establishing a longterm
programme on Optics at the ICTP. According to Gallieno, he had discussed the details of
this project with the ICTP Director, Prof. Sreenivasan, who was supportive of
collaboration.
We look forward to helping you carry forward the great work that Gallieno started.
Best regards,
Krisinda Plenkovich
Director, Education Services and Membership
SPIE
with you the loss of an eminent scientist and great friend—Professor Gallieno Denardo.
We shall remember him, his smile and his excellent contribution to the development
of optics, laser and spectroscopy in Vietnam.
We send our deepest sympathy to his family.
Yours sincerely,
VU XUAN QUANG (President)
NGUYEN DAI HUNG (Secretary General)
Optical and Spectroscopic Society of Vietnam (OSSV)
10 Dao Tan Str., Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Vietnam
about 4 years ago in Trieste. He was such a helpful, tireless and enthusiastic staff member
of ICTP.
He will always be remembered by all of us in SESAME for his valuable work as a
member of the first SESAME Training Committee.
I wish to express my sincere condolences to his family and to his colleagues at
ICTP.
Javad Rahighi
Nuclear Research Center
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
Van de Graaff Laboratory
P.O. Box 113658486
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
was a very kind man and with him, we lose one of the most loyal and active friends. I
would like to ask you to present our condolences and sympathy to his family members
and to the ICTP.
Best regards,
Gérard Rambolamanana
University of Antananarivo
Institute and Observatory of Geophysics In Antananarivo
P.O. Box 3843
101 Antananarivo
Madagascar
offer my personal collaboration and that of EOS to work for the Optics programme in
ICTP.
With my best regards,
Roberta Ramponi
Dipartimento di Fisica
Politecnico di Milano
Milano
Italy
with the ICTP affiliated centres in Senegal and Ghana. The professors and students in
those centres and at other institutions in Africa always spoke highly of him. I am grateful
for the assistance and encouragement that he gave them and me.
Warm regards,
Kennedy Reed
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Mail Stop L41
Livermore, CA 94550
USA
Gallieno Denardo. It has made me very sad. I knew Professor Denardo since 1968 when I
started visiting ICTP. He was one of the finest human beings I have ever come across and
a true friend of Pakistani Physics Community. We will greatly miss him. May his soul rest
in peace! Please convey our heartfelt condolences to his family.
Riazuddin
National Centre for Physics
QuaidiAzam University
Islamabad
Pakistan
I have just heard. Please accept my sincere condolences, and pass them on to his family.
He was an enterprising man with a truly international heart, who was solely devoted to
the objectives of the ICTP. You will recall I visited ICTP in June to discuss how the
Townes Institute might support and augment his optics programme, and I met you then
and earlier this year at the meeting in Pakistan.
I too have a strong sense of the need to make science international, and these
thoughts were motivated very much by Gallieno's mission. With his sudden passing, I
would like to offer you any assistance I can possibly provide, to fill in for his absence.
Regardless, I want to assure you that we still wish to pursue making a stronger
relationship with ICTP, and to strengthen the optics program you have. In this connection,
I would add that I am in close communication with Eugene Arthurs, the CEO of the
International SPIE, who has been in contact with you also on the same subject.
Please let me know if I can help in any way,
Best regards, with condolences,
Martin Richardson, University Trustee Chair
Northrop Grumman Professor of XRay Photonics
Townes Laser Institute
College of Optics & Photonics
University of Central Florida
4000, Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 328162700
USA
particular, for finding ways in helping young optical scientists from the developing world.
I was privileged to spend some time with Gallieno on the occasion of my former student's
2005 ICTP/ICO Prize ceremony in Trieste. Abdus Salam would be proud of Gallieno for
his vital contributions to the ICTP vision.
Nabeel Riza
Professor of Optics and Electrical Engineering
College of Optics/CREOL
University of Central Florida
USA
We all share the sorrow and the great loss. May his soul rest in peace! All the scientific
community associated with ICTP will remain highly indebted for what he did for the
cause of ICTP and the service that he did for ICTP will always be remembered.
With best regards,
Tasneem Zahra Rizvi
Department of Physics
QuaidiAzam University
Islamabad
Pakistan
express my deepest condolences to you, your staff and to the family of Gallieno Denardo.
Dr. Denardo's contributions to this field are innumerable and he will be remembered for
his science and for the strong support he offered his colleagues from around the world.
Already we have several notes about how he influenced others posted on our website.
I know his unexpected passing is a huge loss for you personally and for your
organisation. You have my deepest sympathy.
We're really going to miss Gallieno.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth A. Rogan
Optical Society of America (Osa)
2010 Massachusetts Avenue. Nw
DC 20036 Washington DC
USA
Best Regards
A. A. Saboury
University of Tehran
Institute of Biochemistry & Biophysics
P.O. Box 131451384
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
my numerous visits to the Abdus Salam ICTP since 1976 I always found him to be very
helpful. The ICTP community will always remember his smiling and friendly face as well
as his numerous contributions to the International Centre. Kindly convey my condolences
to his near and dear ones on my own behalf as well as on behalf of my colleagues here in
the GIK Institute.
With best regards,
Abdullah Sadiq
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology,
Topi, District Swabi
NWFP
Pakistan
Kindly accept my condolences.
Sincerely,
Ola Sule Salawu
Department of Biochemistry
Federal University of Technology
P.M.B. 704
Akure
Nigeria
to his family members. I knew him since I first visited ICTP in 1996.
Sincerely from,
Md Saion Salikin
Faculty of Health Sciences
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Jalan Othman 46000
Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
Denardo, ICTP as well as researchers in third world countries, has lost a dynamic
researcher, who was always there with helping hands, fantastic coordinator, a gentle man
and a nice human being. No one can fill this gap.
I am hereby extending my heartfelt condolence to the immediate family of Professor
Gallieno Denardo.
C. Santhosh
Centre for Laser Spectroscopy
Manipal Life Sciences Centre
Manipal University
Manipal 576104
Karnatka
India
supportive of our efforts for the SESAME project and will be remembered with gratitude
by the SESAME community.
Warm regards,
Zehra Sayers
Sabanci University
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Biological Sciences and Bioengineering Program
Orhanli, Tuzla
34956 Istanbul
Turkey
Denardo. Please accept my sincere condolences.
My condolences are also addressed to the whole scientific and administrative
community of ICTP and to his family.
M.B. Sedra
Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
Faculté des Sciences
Université Mohammed V
Avenue Ibn Battota, B.P. 1004
Rabat
Morocco
Denardo who was associated with ICTP. To me he was a guide and good friend. I hope
his family finds enough strength in this tough period.
May his soul rest in peace!
Yours sincerely,
Ishwar Paul Sharma
Department of Soil Science and Water Management
Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry
Nauni
Solan173 230 (Himachal Pradesh)
India
encouraging us as usual.
I am deeply sorry for the ICTP society and also for us Africans it is a big loss.
Personally he had a big hand in shaping my career.
I lost my words.
Tahani Shatir
University of Khartoum
Faculty of Veterinary Science
P.O.Box 321
13314 Khartoum
Sudan
particular for the STEP programme, through which I had known Professor Denardo and
had a privilege to work with him.
Best regards,
Peter Stegnar
The Jozef Stefan Institute
Jamova 39
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
prof.Sreenivasan per la grave perdita che colpisce il mondo della scienza. Nell'attesa di
rivederci, esprimo i sentimenti miei personali e della Federazione Italiana Club
UNESCO.
Marialuisa Stringa
Presidente Centro UNESCO Firenze e Federazione Club Centri UNESCO
shares the deep sorrow of all Argentinean colleagues for the sudden death of Professor
Gallieno Denardo. We recognize him as a keen person, devoted to the promotion of
optical research in the underdeveloped countries. His name was always related to support
extending activities in all branches of Optics in the form of courses, workshops and
networks. He undoubtedly helped us to promote the diverse optical activities and
to develop the research groups in South America and in particular in our country.
Those of us who were lucky to know him will always remember his kind and warm
character.
Argentinian ICO Territorial Committee
Myrian Tebaldi
Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas , CIOp
Camino Parque Centenario entre 505 y 508, Gonnet (1897)
P.O. Box 124, La Plata (1900)
Argentina
Committee for the International Commission on Optics (USACICO) learned of the
recent passing of Gallieno Denardo. We very much appreciated his dedication to optics
activities at ICTP, especially the Laboratory, the schools and workshops, and the
ICO/ICTP Award. He was truly a leader in the community.
The National Academies and the USAC/ICO hope that the ICTP will find a way to
carry on the many important activities supported by Dr. Denardo, particularly the Winter
College on Optics. As you know, these schools have covered a number of topics of
importance to the optics and photonics community, such as quantum and classical aspects
of information optics; optics and photonics in nanoscience and nanotechnology;
interferometry and applications in modern physics; and biophotonics. The US optics
community has appreciated the opportunity to work with the ICTP and to hold courses
and workshops there, and we strongly hope that this relationship will continue so that Dr.
Denardo's legacy will live on.
Kathie Bailey Mathae
Director
Board on International Scientific Organisations
The National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
USA
authorities of ICTP, and through them to the family, friends and colleagues of Professor
Denardo our most felt condolences for the death of such a distinguished scientist and
person. Our institutional and personal bonds with him go back to the beginning of the
eighties, and since then, Professor Denardo always stimulated our activities in a decisive
way.
Jorge O. Tocho
Director
Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas
Camino Centenario y 506
1897 La Plata
Argentina
befriended all these years.
Le Dung Trang
Head
Mathematics Section
ICTP
of the Vietnamese scientific community I would like to express to the Abdus Salam
International Centre for Theoretical Physics and to the family of Professor G. Denardo
our sincere condolences.
Nguyen Van Hieu
Institute of Theoretical Physics
Institute of Physics & Electronics
VAST
P.O. Box 429
Bo Ho, Hanoi 10000
Vietnam
we can pay to Gallieno is to further his plans for Optics at ICTP and see that they come to
fruition. We all have lost an irreplaceable colleague, and colleague.
Best wishes.
Vengu
Prof. Vasudevan "Vengu" Lakshminarayanan
Professor of Optometry, Electrical Engineering and Physics
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo ON N2L 3G1
Canada
eminent scientist and great friend. We had known him for almost 30 years and greatly
appreciated not only his outstanding contribution to the development of physics in
Vietnam and the developing countries but also his warm personality. It is still really hard
to believe we shall never see him again.
We share your loss and send our deepest sympathy to his family.
Yours sincerely,
NGUYEN AI VIET (Director. Institute of Physics and Electronics
IPE, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology VAST)
NGUYEN DAI HUNG (ViceDirector, IPE. Director, Center for Quantum
Electronics, IPE)
Optical and Spectroscopic Society of Vietnam (OSSV)
10 Dao Tan Str., Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Vietnam
great friend of mine and we have shared during more than thirty years extraordinary
experiences of promotion of science in the Third World. I feel his loss as that of a brother
and already called his family to express to his wife my deepest condolences. However,
Gallieno was a person so deeply related to ICTP and identified with its philosophy and
ideals, that I consider necessary to express also to you, and to the Centre my condolences
for this loss. With Gallieno ICTP has lost a key person who has given a tremendous
contribution to the success of the Center. Those who had the fortune of knowing him and
collaborating with him and of benefiting from his dedication will never forget Gallieno.
Unfortunately, I will not be in Italy next Monday but I accompany in spirit all
Gallieno's friends and relatives and the colleagues of ICTP in the burial ceremony.
Yours,
Leo Violini
Dipartimento di Fisica
Universita della Calabria
Italy
Gallieno always supported us and was the key person in the organization of the
Winter Colleges in Optics, a prestigious international school, where it was possible to
meet both eminent professors and excellent students from all countries (without any
discrimination).
I shall support (with ICO, OSA, SPIE, EOS) the continuation of this generous
activity, which I suggest to bear the name "Gallieno Denardo".
He also supported the collaboration between ICTP and Romanian researchers in
physics. We shall also continue this collaboration and we shall dedicate one meeting in
optics to him.
Please accept my condolences and convey them also to Denardo's family. For our
good friend, I can say in this moment: "Requiescat in Pace!"
Sincerely,
Valentin I. Vlad
Institute of Atomic Physics
NILPRPLaser Department
P.O. Box MG36
R76 900 Bucharest
Romania
frère et c'était un grand ami de l'Afrique. Je propose qu'on lui rende un hommage special
à ICTP pour son action en faveur du développement de la physique en Afrique et un peu
partout à travers le monde. Il était un vrai internationaliste au vrai sens du mot. Chaque
visiteur à ICTP qu'il soit Africain, Chinois, Vietnamien, Indien, Pakistanais, Latino
Americain, Européen, Américain, pensait qu'il était le meilleur ami de Denardo, tout cela
pour dire combien il était bon avec tout le monde. C'est une grande perte surtout pour
nous Africains et il serait difficile de trouver une autre personne comme lui à ICTP, qui
comprend vraiment les problemes du développement scientifique en Afrique.
Prions pour lui.
Ahmadou Wague
Department of Physics
Faculty of Science and Technology
University Cheikh Anta Diop
Dakar
Senegal
was highly estimated and will be missed a lot.
I informed Mr. Paulo Barretto, our former Director, about the sad news (you may
remember that they had a close working relationship and high esteem for each other).
With warm regards,
Susanne Walleczek
Office of the Deputy Director General
Department of Technical Cooperation
International Atomic Energy Agency
P.O. Box 100, A1400 Vienna, Austria
accepted to participate in the meeting of the C13 commission of IUPAP on 1st September
and I expected to meet him finally there, having worked a lot with him but always from
far. His international friends, in particular from Africa, will deeply miss his friendship
and support.
Best regards,
Annick SuzorWeiner
Université ParisSud
11 Bat. 210
91405Orsay
France
developing world for which he will be remembered by all who had the good fortune to
know him and work with him. When he learned about SESAME he became immediately
involved and enthusiastic. He was a member of the first SESAME Training Committee,
formed at a meeting in Berlin on August 1921, 1999 and worked in many ways to create
opportunities for scientists from the Middle East to gain experience with synchrotron
radiation research.
Best regards,
Herman Winick
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
Division of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
SSRL/SLAC MS 69; bldg 137, room 316
2575 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park CA 940257015
USA
passed away suddenly on 23 July 2007. Professor Denardo had supported the AAAPT
since the 80s and we shared this deep sadness with our colleagues at ICTP and around the
world in loosing a great friend.
C.S.Wong
On behalf of AAAPT
C.S. Wong, FASc, MInstP, CPhys, FIPM, FMSA
President, Asian African Association for Plasma Training (AAAPT)
Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, Germany
Fellow, Academy of Sciences Malaysia
Plasma Research Laboratory, Physics Department,
University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Gallieno's family.
All the best,
Yu Lu
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Theoretical Physics
Interdisciplinary Center of Theoretical Studies
P.O. Box 2735
Zhong Guan Cun
Dong Lu, 55
100080 Beijing
People's Republic of China
have read the news in the ICTP home page and concur with the description of the very
valuable work of Gallieno in the ICTP in general and in the Optics and Laser activities in
particular.
As you may remember I have been serving as SPIE representative in the TSOSA
Committee during the last four years. I already have had relation with the Winter School
in ICTP from the nineties. I have always appreciated and recognized the very valuable
work of Gallieno and all of us also appreciated your very important support and
collaboration in promoting the Optics and Laser activities in ICTP.
I have just communicated the very sad news to Brian Culshaw, SPIE President and
Eugene Arthurs, SPIE Executive Director. All of us will miss Gallieno very much.
I express to you and all the ICTP members my very deep condolences.
My best regards.
Maria J. Yzuel
Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona
Departamento de Fisica
Grupo de Optica
Edificio Cc
08193 Bellaterra
Spain
not only my friend but also my mentor. I met him for the first time in 1988. It is almost
20 years. I can't imagine ICTP without him. I am feeling very sad. I received his mail last
week. He was quite upset about the plaster on his foot. We discussed the programme of
the next winter school.
For all of us it is a great loss. Please convey my condolences to his family.
With my best regards,
Imrana Ashraf Zahid
Department of Physics
QuaidiAzam University
Islamabad
Pakistan
many years and seen him regularly during the General Conference. I will always
remember him as a real gentleman.
All the best,
Gerda Zeitlhuber
Office of the Deputy Director General
Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
IAEA
Gallieno Denardo.
Please, accept my condolences concerning this loss of your chief, associate and
friend. My reassurance to all his colleagues and, of course, his family.
Vitaly Zubialevich
Institute of Physics of NAS Belarus
F. Skaryna Ave.
P.O. Box 68
220072 Minsk
Belarus
The international optics community is living hard times. Last July 24, I received
the very sad new of the great loss of Gallieno Denardo, which happened suddenly and
unexpectedly. Gallieno has left us in times when his presence would be more needed, as
he was the driving force of so many activities developed at the ICTP to enhance the
training of students and young researchers, in particular from developing regions of the
world. The International Commission for Optics (ICO), as an international organization
aimed to support the development of optics and photonics in the world, has lost a great
friend and a key person for the international projection of all these programs. I had the
enormous chance to work with Gallieno for the last six years and I was always impressed
by his tenacity, dedication, generosity and the great sense he had about how to orient and
focus the optics activities. It is indeed very hard to accept that Gallieno’s presence will be
absent from the ICTP rooms, and that we shall not be able to sit and talk with him on so
many aspects on the current activities. Gallieno was instrumental in establishing and
running all ICTP activities on optics, including laboratories, schools and workshops, and
the ICO/ICTP Award. As an additional program in their long standing cooperation, the
ICTP and ICO established in 1999 this Award in order to recognize a researcher less than
40 years old from a developing country.
As part of its program to support optics in less favored regions of the world, ICO
has been collaborating with ICTP in organizing Winter Colleges on Optics during the last
sixteen years. Gallieno Denardo, as the local organizer, was providing all the necessary
supports and arrangements for the successive College to be great successes, one after the
other. He has also been the local organizer of the eleventh edition of the Winter Colleges,
to be held on February 2008. He was even devoting part of his always busy schedule to
share with all the participants the meetings, seminars, and to organize wonderful music
evening happenings.
Gallieno, as the coordinator of the optics and laser programs at the ICTP, took
another very practical initiative, namely, the organization of the Trieste System Optical
Sciences and Applications (TSOSA) Advisory Group, established in 2003 with the aim of
advising the ICTP in the area of optics activities.
There is very little more to be added to our sadness. No doubt, a good tribute to
his memory will be to join forces, to complete his work and to continue with our related
activities.
At the forthcoming ICO Topical Meeting on Optics and Laser Applications in
Medicine and Environmental Monitoring for Sustainable Development to be held in
Accra (Ghana) next November 2007, a Special Session honoring Gallieno Denardo will
be organized with the aim to offer the most generous perspective and scope on Gallieno’s
contributions on the last decades to the expansion of optics and photonics. We would like
to invite all our colleagues to participate in one way or another in this homage.
Let us leave Gallieno’s memory to be a part of our motivations, in the forthcoming
years, in order to afford and warrant a better future for these young generations. Surely, he
would put all his enthusiasm on that.
Maria L. Calvo
ICO Secretary General
Professor of Optics
Head of the Department of Optics
Complutense University of Madrid
I knew Gallieno for almost 25 years and am proud to have had him as a friend as
well as collaborator. I have many fond memories of our interactions but there is one in
particular I would like to share.
In March 2007, Gallieno and I travelled to Paris for a meeting at UNESCO with
authorities from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to report on the Mori
Fellowship programme. The Mori fellows are funded by the Japanese Government though
UNESCO.
We flew to Paris the day before the meeting and had a couple of hours to spare
before dinner. Since we were staying in a hotel close to the Tour Eiffel (and Gallieno,
somewhat shamefacedly, confessed to me that despite his numerous trips to Paris, he had
only ever seen the symbol of Paris from a moving taxi) I suggested that we put on our
walking shoes. I have never been proud of my orienteering skills but it was obvious that I
had no choice but to act as a tourist guide for Gallieno and show him the sights. So, map
in hand, we set off. We ended up walking for more than four hours (without getting lost)
along the banks of the Seine and reaching Notre Dame and even further. During the walk,
we spoke of many things: his commitment to ICTP and its mission, his love of animals,
particularly stray ones (at one point he had of the order of 14 cats), his joy at learning new
languages, his gardening, his carpentry... It was so easy to talk to him.
When we sat down for a meal together, I ordered a glass of wine while Gallieno
chose only water. I will never forget the incredulous expression on Gallieno's face when
the waitress brought me not one glass, but a litre of red wine. I joked that I hadn't thought
my French was so bad—and remarked that since we had it we might as well drink up!
We didn't get to the bottom of the bottle (as Gallieno feared we might, or even worse that
I might) and what made us laugh even more was when we requested the bill and the
waitress produced a measuring tape and literally measured how much we had drunk—and
that's what we paid for. So, my French hadn't been that bad after all!
Gallieno was also an extremely kind and thoughtful person. Every Christmas and
Easter, without fail and for as long as I can remember, he would arrive at my office with
the traditional Italian cake—pandoro for Christmas and colomba for Easter—gestures
which will be sorely missed.
ICTP is not the same place without Gallieno and like many of us, I already miss
him but somehow I still hear his laughter echoing down the corridors.
Anne Gatti
ICTP
I am stunned and saddened by the sudden loss of my friend and colleague of
nearly 20 years, Professor Gallieno Denardo of the International Centre for Theoretical
Physics (ICTP), in Trieste, Italy. The significance of his loss is difficult to express in
words, but my fond memories of this distinguished humanitarian are easy to articulate.
I met Gallieno for the first time in 1988, when Professor Abdus Salam, the late
Nobel Laureate and Founding Director of ICTP, created the Edward Bouchet Abdus
Salam Institute (EBASI**). Gallieno was the primary facilitator for Prof. Salam and
three of the primary objectives of EBASI, which were [1] to provide a mechanism for
synergistic scientific and technical collaborations between African and AfricanAmerican
scientists; [2] to increase the technical manpower pool working in Africa today; and [3] to
facilitate the training of PhD students from African universities. As one of the founding
members of the American Council of EBASI, I started working with Gallieno at ICTP,
and found him to be one of the most gifted, visionary, and compassionate of individuals,
totally dedicated to disseminating excellent science to developing countries not only in
Africa, but also in Asia and Latin America as well. What seemed to many like an
insurmountable task was made agreeable and enjoyable, due mostly to Gallieno’s
congenial, affable nature; I found that his remarkable energy galvanized me, and
countless others, to this noble cause.
Already an internationally recognized center for theoretical physics, ICTP became
a mecca for scientists from developing countries to learn the latest advances in theoretical
physics from the top scientists in the world. Gallieno, with his background in elementary
particle physics, recognized early on that optics and photonics was an exceptional vehicle
to expand the scientific breadth of ICTP to a wider audience in the developing world. As
the Organizer of ICTP activities in Lasers and Optics since 1985, he simultaneously
served as Head of the ICTP Office of External Activities from 1989 through 1997. With
the passing of Prof. Salam in 1996, Gallieno became the principal spearhead to
implement Prof. Salam’s mandate that ICTP “… foster advanced studies and research,
especially in developing countries.” Even mandatory retirement did not sway his
enthusiasm and commitment, evinced by Gallieno’s activities as a Consultant to the ICTP
Office of External Activities since 1998.
During his tenure with ICTP, Gallieno organized over 50 scientific meetings and
training courses in the field of lasers, atomic and molecular physics since 1985. I
remember when Gallieno organized his first conference on optics and photonics in 1985,
which was entitled “Winter College on Lasers, Atomic and Molecular Physics,” 21
January – 22 March. The Directors of this college were, G. Amat, T. Arecchi, R. Bonifacio, A. Dymanus, F. P. Schäfer and O. Svelto – all internationally recognized
members of the optics community. These were extremely well organized workshops with
6080 students at or near the PhD from universities in developing countries from around
the world. The lectures were quite comprehensive, covering the basics to the latest
advances in optics and photonics. I recall Gallieno had “rock star” status among the
students, who revered him for his scientific prowess as well as his charismatic personality.
His attention to detail and concern for scientific excellence was nothing short of
extraordinary. For nearly two decades now, I’ve admired Gallieno because I have seen
how he impacted so many promising students and practicing scientists all over the world.
It was a pleasure to lecture in two of his early workshops, and subsequently to discuss
strategies for the center’s future.
I was OSA President when OSA signed an MOU with ICTP to support the Annual
Winter Colleges on Optics and Photonics at a level of $5000, and authorizing such was
one of the most satisfying tasks of my term. Given the size of the budget required to run
the colleges, this $5000 contribution is indeed quite small, but to Gallieno it was priceless
simply because it had the imprimatur of the OSA! When SPIE followed with a similar
MOU the following year, Gallieno was equally delighted. Many times, he and I discussed
the possibility of getting support/advice from the international optics, so in 2003 he
formed the Trieste System Optical Sciences and Applications (TSOSA) Advisory Group
to promote optical sciences in the developing world. TSOSA includes representatives
from SPIE, ICO, OSA, OWLS, EOS, UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) and science programs across Europe. In addition to advising the center’s leaders
about programs for the annual winter college in optics, TSOSA offers a vehicle for
sharing center news with the global optics community. TSOSA gave Gallieno a
professional and international framework to continue his mission of offering assistance
and training to young researchers from the developing world. For his efforts, Gallieno
was the 2005 SPIE Educator Award recipient, a welldeserved award which recognized
his work in organizing optics and photonics schools, colleges, conferences, and
workshops for the past 20 years.
When he retired several years ago, we still managed to keep in touch because
Gallieno continued to give his time and attention to making science and engineering
education accessible to grateful students in developing countries around the world.
Personally, I have found Gallieno to be one of the warmest and most caring individuals
that I have ever met, and I will never forget our friendship. The ICTP outreach programs
have lost a tireless advocate, an esteemed mentor, and a benevolent leader in Prof.
Gallieno Denardo—I can’t imagine who could fill his very large shoes!
University) the first African American and the first known person of African descent to
earn the PhD degree in Physics.
Anthony M. Johnson, Director
Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR)
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA
2002 President of the Optical Society of America (OSA)
I first met Professor Gallieno Denardo when I was working at the International
Centre for High Technology (ICSUNIDO)—he would often visit the offices then located
on the top floor of the Adriatico Guesthouse in Grignano. This was in late 1989. I worked
closely with him on a number of scientific projects leading to the establishment of the
International Centre for Pure and Applied Chemistry in 1990 and organized together the
Centre's first conference on "Lasers in Chemistry" in June that year, hosted by ICTP. I
still have the volume of the proceedings published by the Indian Academy of Sciences
which I worked on closely with Professor Denardo and the organizing committee. I well
remember his enthusiasm for his work and especially lasers.
More recently, since 2000, I found myself once more on the ICTP premises
working for TWAS. I would often bump into Professor Denardo at the Enrico Fermi
building where he had his office. He always had time to stop and chat and enquire about
work—his infectious laugh resounded along the corridors and his permanent good
humour prevailed.
I will certainly miss him.
Joanna Lacey
InterAcademy Panel (IAP)
and then rolled down the hallway past my office door from somewhere in the area of the
Director’s office. Whatever serious business had been attended to was now punctuated by
Gallieno’s clear statement that the business of uplifting the human spirit need not be
conducted by grim faces. He wasn’t alone in this, for which I am thankful, but he perhaps
said it the loudest.
On many of these occasions, passing afterwards by my office door, Gallieno
would often stop to ask how things were going, his face slowly, but not fully recovering its
calmer demeanor. A simple “fine” often prompted the response “No, how are things
going REALLY, Joe?” That I will remember as much as his laughter: the warmth and
openness which he so often showed and his friendship. As a new staff member I was
particularly grateful that Gallieno was so willing to share his broad experience gained
over a lifetime at the Center, and to have had the opportunity to share in his insights. But
it wasn’t altogether onesided: during our visits Gallieno would rarely miss the
opportunity to extract my perception of how certain of his programs were going, or what
my thoughts were on how they could be made to work better. He always listened carefully
and actively to perceived problems, but even more memorable is the way his eyes would
light up when I would tell him of specific ways in which I thought things were working
particularly well.
It was clear that Gallieno real y loved the Center. He didn’t need to say thisit
was obvious when we talked about the nuts and bolts of the place. And while he could be
very critical of certain situations, he was never cynical. It seems that Gallieno’s sleeves
were nearly always rolled up, always working to improve things, never sitting back to
admire whatever successes had already been achieved. All this had a profound effect on
me, much more than a thousand motivational talks could have.
Gallieno was anything but a slick salesman, yet he easily sold the ideals of the
Center. He sold ICTP the easy way—because deep down I think he really believed in its
ability to fulfill its stated mission and his sense of optimism showed. Among all else, I
remember Gallieno as an incredibly gracious person. He did not appear, however,
interested in merely being polite…like when he would stop by my office, asking “How
are things going REALLY Joe?”
Joe Niemela
ICTP
It’s sad to come to know that you left us so suddenly, working until the end for our next
activity.
You were a focal point of meeting, you built from all the world a big family of us.
We are still confused, and it will take time to realize that we will not find you just around
the corner at ICTP, ready to listen, always finding the time for a quick practical solution,
in spite of hundreds of things to look at.
Sometimes many of us would have wished to have more of your time, more attention,
more advice, and more and more.
We never found the door closed, never.
We always had a concrete fast applied solution.
Will we realize?
Few words, really few about yourself, in years:
You could keep us together, as a community, working all the year, for some weeks for us,
as a scientific community, and at the end of every activity, with the feeling of being a
family too.
Through your silent and constant work in ICTP, and in ICTP spirit, we could have the
best available lectures in the world. We could grow and come back to our countries,
seeding the development of our people.
Sometimes we were a little bit "sad" feeling how difficult it can be and is to compete with
laboratories with so many facilities, and how much harder it is working in science with
the minimum, and often less than that.
You knew that...maybe you were a little bit sad too.
But you never stopped encouraging us to go on learning and improving step by step,
helping as much as possible to find chances to go on working, and giving us a feedback
for outputs, that we would have had to give you every year.
We would have had every year some very positive and well defined new result.
Will you see us from there?
We hope, we hope that you, while taking rest, will see some good results from us; it’s the
best satisfaction for an educator.
Professor, farewell, we are spread around the world, but we will be there.
sometime for us to know you now.
No time to tell you, "we will miss you".
No time to realize...
Professor, thanks.
All Your ICTP Optics Community
Barbara Federica Scremin (Italy)
Zohra BenLakhdar (Tunisia)
Amadou Wague (Senegal)
Imrana Ashraf Zahid (Pakistan)
Paul Buah Bassuah (Ghana)
Danailov Miltcho (Bulgaria)
Lisanna Iannitti (ICTP)
Nadia van Buuren (ICTP)
Vanessa Varnier (International Centre for Science and Technology (ICS))
In writing about my friend Gallieno Denardo, I have had to resist the tendency to
write in the present tense, as if he was still with us—as if he would somehow show up in
my office and fill it with his boisterous, if somewhat nervous, laughter. Alas, that will
never happen now.
Monday the 23rd of July was Gallieno’s 72nd birthday. I sent him a brief egreeting
sometime that afternoon. He was homebound because of his accident for more than a
week already, and I didn’t expect an immediate response. I didn’t receive anything from
him the next morning, either. Around 10 AM of the 24th, I learnt that Gallieno was no
more! He had likely passed away just around the time I sent my email.
At first, I could not believe the news of Gallieno’s death because it seemed so
unlikely and untimely. I was hoping against hope that someone might show up to reassure
me that this terrible news was not true. But, alas, it was true and there was nothing to do
but stare into endless emptiness.
I had lunch with Gallieno just the previous Friday and bantered with him that he
probably missed ICTP more than ICTP missed him during his absence in the recent week
or so. When I drove him from Adriatico to the Main Building, Gallieno alighted with
some difficulty from the car and was slow to walk on his crutches; but he gave no
indication of anything more than modest discomfort. If it is true that gentle death without
suffering befalls only generous people, there was abundant proof in death, as in life, that
Gallieno was unreservedly generous to all. I know for a fact that he always thought in
terms of how he could be useful to others in need—never asking how his actions would
serve his strategic advantage.
When I came for my first formal visit to ICTP, still unsure if I would accept the
position of the ICTP Director, Gallieno was one of the people who tilted my decision in
favor. He convinced me that it would indeed be possible to set up an experimental
research program at ICTP (he took me to Elettra and the Optics Lab), and explained why
someone like me would be good for ICTP at that time. Later, Gallieno was like an older
brother to me giving guidance and advice when asked, rarely pushing a personal agenda,
never demanding things in return. He made me feel good about myself on occasion—
heaven knows that there are many reasons to feel otherwise—and provided as input his
immense experience when critical decisions had to be made.
Now that Gallieno is gone for good, I have to find people to take on all the
responsibilities that he shouldered so capably without pretense. No doubt that ICTP will
rise to the occasion and things will turn out fine at some level, but it will never be the
same without him. We will miss the wealth of information that resided in Gallieno’s mind
and the compassion and effectiveness with which he used it.
Recently ICTP celebrated "Africa Day" at the instance of the Africa Department of
the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several African scientists, young and old, spoke at
the meeting. For those who knew Gallieno’s involvement in Africa, it came as no surprise that the meeting turned out, unplanned, to celebrate Gallieno’s contributions to African
science. Nearly everyone acknowledged the warmth and personal involvement that he
evinced on ICTP’s projects in Africa. In his usual unassuming way, he brushed off this
honor simply by saying that people were exaggerating. Those who knew the details were
aware that the truth was different: Gallieno deserved everything that was said of him that
day. Gallieno did many things for ICTP but this is no place to attempt a list. I should,
however, mention three aspects: the Office of External Activities (OEA), his mentoring of
an important training activity on lasers and optics, and his special interest in Eastern
Europe. In all these instances, his vision was not grandiose but pragmatic and practical.
Gallieno built OEA over time and with patience, and cultivated deserving scientists all
over the world; he was keenly aware of their shortcomings and knew their little problems
and difficulties, but he also knew what measures would be appropriate to solve them.
Even though his own field of research was not optics, he saw its importance for a number
of areas of basic sciences, and, through the involvement of many interested people over
the world, created a great optics community around ICTP. For areas in which ICTP does
not have local expertise, as has been the case with lasers and optics, I believe this to be
the most effective way to forge ahead. Gallieno had very strong feelings for Central
European cultures, particularly Slavic (he spoke fluent Slovenian)—and he devoted much
energy to create strong links with ICTP. Naturally, he had many friends in that part of the
world. He was also very keen to nurture ICTP’s relationships with the IAEA, which he
considered vital and strategic.
I know that different people have their different ideas of what happens after death. I
must confess that I don’t know my own thinking well on this facet—let alone knowing
about those of others. However, if it is true that there is a soul that survives the collapse of
physical body, I have no doubt that Gallieno’s soul hovers over ICTP, taking pride in its
accomplishments and cheering us on to do better when it falls short of expectations; but
he would be neither jealous nor complaining. That thought lessens my sadness at the
knowledge of his death.
K.R. Sreenivasan
ICTP
I will save forever the memory of Professor Denardo's cheerful nature. We always
had a very positive working and human relationship.
In particular we had a sort of joke that started a long time ago. You might know that
my name in Italian but written "stanca" means "tired" and people often make jokes about
it. Professor Denardo sometimes also talked in Slovenian or Croatian to me as he was
very fluent in both languages, but especially in Slovenian. Once he asked me if I were
"trudna". I thought that the meaning of this word in both Slovenian and Croatian was the
same and since in Croatian it means "pregnant" I replied "Oh my God, I hope not". He
was very surprised by my reply and I noticed his astonishment. So I asked him why he
was suprised by my reply because I indeed hoped not to be pregnant. And then he started
to laugh loudly (as he used to do often) and I was suprised and asked him why he was
laughing. Then he explained that in Slovenian the word "trudna" means just "tired" and
that he only wanted to make the joke about my name and to ask if I was tired. Then of
course we both laughed about this slight misunderstanding and this remained a joke
between us: he often used to ask me "Are you trudnain Slovenian?"
Stanka Tanaskovic
ICTP
Back in 1977, when Abdus Salam and Paolo Budinich first lured me to ICTP and
the University of Trieste, my office on the Main Building second floor corridor appeared
to suffer a strange, though entirely not unpleasant disturbance. One day after the other,
someone down the corridor was breaking into periodic, unrestrained, loud bursts of
laughter.
Gallieno Denardo, then a young Theoretical Physics faculty and relativity expert,
turned out to be the unrepenting author of the laughing disturbance. As I was to discover
with time, he was indeed much more and much better than a jolly guy, and in fact just a
great human being. The laughter was but one manifestation of his love for life and for his
fellow men and women.
Theoretical physics is a fine job: but you cannot escape asking yourself sometimes
why you do it; and what good is it to others, especially to those in situations of difficulty
and need. Many of us came here to Trieste partly in response to that call. That must have
been a worry for Gallieno too. A giving person as he was, he evidently needed to do
more than just teach and research theoretical physics. So at some point in the early 80s he
joined the ICTP on a much stronger working basis. From that point onwards, Gallieno's
presence surfaced in literally every corner of ICTP's activity, wherever there was a need
to fulfill, or a problem to solve.
But the real impact of Gallieno's personality I experienced personally only in
relatively recent times. In 2002 circumstances demanded that I take up for a year or so the
acting directorship of ICTP. Willing though I was to be of help, I had clear knowledge of
my fatal lack of organization in administrative matters, and felt lost without backup (the
previous administrative director having just retired). It was Gallieno who moved in to help
me, and covered that unexpected role really wonderfully, with total and unselfish
dedication, from day 1 to day 365.
Gallieno's legacy is rich multifaceted: To work and give without conditions. He
taught us to set up ties with isolated scientists in Africa; with experimental facilities like
the Elettra Synchrotron, or his own Laser Laboratory; with IAEA in Vienna through the
STEP fellowships, his own invention; and countless other feats. Last but not least, he
taught us his strong friendly laughter as a hymn to life and to friendship. I wish to
remember my friend Gallieno that way.
Erio Tosatti
SISSA
Dear Professor Denardo,
It was so sudden and I'm starting to believe it's final. I am still expecting your head
to popin my office door, to see that honest smile and to hear your laughter down the
corridor. I will always cherish your memory.
I will miss a gentleman that could communicate both with diplomacy and
straightforward ways. I will miss your recognition for the smallest thing, your trust,
respect, comfort and support, your commitment, passion and values, your logic and
punctuality.
I miss you dearly.
Nadia van Buuren
ICTP
Gallieno Denardo, un ami de l’Afrique s’en est allé,
D’abord tout a commencé par un article que je voulais soumettre comme reprint à
ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) en août 1986. Alors on m’avait dit
que c’était le Prof. Gallieno Denardo qui était le répondant à ICTP pour tout ce qui
concerne les questions de physique atomique. Je peux dire que depuis ce jour, je venais
d’avoir la chance de rencontrer un homme formidable. Surtout ce jour là son rire éclatant
et sincère venait déjà de me frapper. C’est ainsi que depuis cette période, chaque année,
quand je revenais à Trieste pour les différentes activités du Centre et particulièrement
pour les Winter Colleges organisés par le Prof. Denardo, j’étais toujours très heureux de
le revoir et de travailler avec lui pour l’organisation des séminaires LAMP (Lasers Atomic
and Molecular Physics). Ces séminaires étaient des occasions privilégiées de
communiquer et de s'imprégner des travaux des participants au Winter Collège venant du
monde entier. Il nous est arrivé au début des années 90 d’organiser même des séances
nocturnes de projection video sur l’instrumentation laser et cela toujours avec
l’enthousiasme habituel du Prof. Denardo. C'était une ambiance particulière et
réconfortante que de travailler avec lui. Je me rappelle on avait l’habitude de se rencontrer
très tôt le matin dans son bureau, car il était toujours parmi les oiseaux du petit matin à
ICTP. Et c’était avec beaucoup de réconfort que je repartais de son bureau toujours avec
au moins une réponse positive aux innombrables problèmes très particuliers liés au
développement des sciences en Afrique. Durant les deux décennies où j’ai eu le privilège
de travailler avec lui, le Prof Denardo a permis à la communauté scientifique africaine
présente à ICTP de faire des bons qualitatifs particulièrement dans le domaine des
sciences optiques. On lui doit, au départ avec le soutien de Abdus Salam luimême, le
Directeur fondateur de ICTP, la création avec les scientifiques Africains du Réseau LAM
(African Laser Atomic, Molecular and Optical sciences Network) et de tous les centres
affiliés et autres réseaux que ce soit en mathématiques ou en physique, dans plusieurs
pays africains (Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, Sénégal, Ghana, Soudan, Cameroun, Maroc
Tunisie, Egypte, Afrique du Sud, Zimbabwe, Namibie, Botswana, Mozambique,
Zambie etc.). Grâce à lui beaucoup de chercheurs africains au départ très isolés sont
devenus des membres associés de ICTP et beaucoup d’autres ont bénéficié du
programme de bourse Sandwich Step qu’il a initié avec l’Agence International de
l’Energie Atomique ainsi que du programme de bourse avec ICS a Trieste ( International
centre for Science and High Technology). Tout juste au cours des trois dernières années le
Prof. Denardo se battait encore pour rendre opérationnel le TSOSA (Trieste System for
Optical Sciences and Applications), avec la création d’un programme de mentorship et
celle d’un groupe permanent en Optique à ICTP.
Le Prof. Denardo a été la bonne fée de l'Afrique à ICTP. Il a su susciter des
interactions utiles et fécondes entre les scientifiques africains et la communauté
scientifique internationale. C'est ainsi qu’avec son soutien, le LAM a pu organisé
plusieurs conférences, ateliers et écoles à caractère international sur les lasers et l’optique
à travers toute l'Afrique et c’est ainsi que le LAM est devenu une société internationale
membre de ICO avec un poste de vice présidence. De même par son intermédiaire,
plusieurs pays africains sont devenus membres ou observateurs à l’Union International de
Physique Pure et Appliquée (IUPAP). En plus il a su créer des liens entre les scientifiques
Africains et plusieurs sociétés Internationales d’Optique comme ICO, OSA, SPIE,
OWLS, IEE/LEOS. De même, il a été à l’origine des relations fécondes qui existent entre
le LAM et des chercheurs Africains avec l’Université de Lund en Suède, avec l’Institut
d’Optique de Paris en France, ainsi que des relations de coopération avec le Programme
International en Sciences Physiques de l’Université d’Uppsala en Suède avec l’appui
financier du SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency). Avec le Prof. Abdus
Salam, il a favorisé également, la création de liens de coopération scientifique entre la
Diaspora Africaine de l’Amérique et la communauté scientifique africaine de Physiciens
et de Mathématiciens par la création du "Edouart Bouchet Abdus Salam Institute
"(EBASI) .
Le Prof Denardo était un combattant infatigable,, et cela jusqu’au dernier souffle,
pour le développement des sciences optiques en Afrique, et c’était un ami toujours
présent pour susciter des opportunités de coopération scientifique. Chaque visiteur à
ICTP, qu’il soit Africain, Asiatique, Européen ou Américain, croyait qu’il était le
meilleur ami du Prof. Denardo. Cela montre combien il était ouvert à tous, et en vérité on
doit dire que le prof. Denardo était un internationaliste au vrai sens du mot. En fait à
ICTP, on peut dire qu’il incarnait véritablement l’idéal de Abdus Salam pour le partage
universel de la science.
Prof. Denardo, tu nous a quitté subitement, ce lundi 23 juillet 2007, mais pour
paraphraser le poète Sénégalais Birago Diop, en Afrique, nous savons que les morts ne
sont pas morts, qu’ils sont dans l’eau qui coule, qu’ils sont dans le vent qui souffle, qu’ils
sont dans l’enfant qui vient de naître. Mais toi Prof. Denardo, en plus, tu es dans la
lumière des lasers des laboratoires que nous avons crées ensemble en Afrique, tu es dans
les pages des livres, dans les mémoires et sur les écrans des ordinateurs que nous
consultons tous les jours, tu es dans les thèses et les articles que nous avons écrits avec
nos étudiants. Tu seras toujours avec nous dans les activités du LAM, de ICO, de UPAP
de OSA, de SPIE de OWLS etc. Dans les couloirs, les bureaux, les salles de cours et
conférences de ICTP, à chaque fois que nous y serons nous entendrons tes éclats de rire si
sincères et si amicaux.
Le 31 mai 2007 à Trieste, à la journée "Africa Day "dediée à l’Afrique par ICTP,
comme une prémonition, les Africains unanimes t’ont rendu un vibrant hommage Urbi
et Orbi. Aujourd’hui, Prof. Denardo, toi l’Officier de l’Ordre National du Lion du
Sénégal (la plus grande distinction honorifique de ce pays), toi le Docteur Honoris Causa de l'Université de Cape Coast au Ghana, l’Afrique reconnaissante du fond des savanes,
des déserts, et des forets par delà les frontières du temps et de l’espace, te dit merci. A ta
famille, à Dori, à Eleanor, à Georges, a Sreenivasan, nous exprimons toutes nos
condoléances émues et notre sympathie.
Maintenant, repose en paix cher ami.
Ahmadou Wague
Président du LAM Network et coordinateur du Centre Affilié de Dakar
the ICTP community, Trieste University, Trieste, Italy, and the whole optics community
as well as his family. I cannot say in words what he has done for scientists who came to
know him. I think we lost him but we did not lose him as a model in our life.
Abbaker Ali Abdalla
Department of Physics
Faculty of Science
University of Khartoum
P. O. Box 321
Khartoum
Sudan
This is really sad and a great loss indeed to all of us who have had contact with him.
Gallieno was a very pleasant and accommodating personality.
May the LORD comfort his family!
J.O. Adeniyi
Physics Department
University of Ilorin
P.M.B. 1515
Ilorin
Kwara State
Nigeria
I am very sad to hear about the death of Professor Gallieno Denardo. Really it is
very distressing. Professor Denardo was a friend of Jordan and Jordanian Physicists and
Mathematicians. May God rest his soul in peace! I will announce his death in the
Jordanian Times newspaper.
Thank you for this information.
Yours,
Mashhour Ibrahim Al Ali
Department of Mathematics
Mutah University
P.O. Box 7
Mutah
Alkarak
Jordan
We heard the shocking news that our beloved professor Denardo is dead. This is a
great loss to us. It is a great loss to the ICTP community. We really lost a great father.
Sincerely,
Bashir Ali
Mathematics Department
Bayero University
P.M.B. 3011
Kano
Nigeria
I was shocked and saddened to learn about the sudden demise of my dear friend
Gallieno.
I have known him for a period of over thirty years. He was more than a friend. He
was very helpful, optimistic and championed the cause of development of science in
Africa, particularly the study of Laser Physics. He paid special attention to young people
and promoted the interest of women and disadvantaged scientists. He had time for
everybody. His office was always full of young scientists seeking advice which he readily
gave. Gallieno was an excellent unofficial Ambassador of the Abdus Salam International
Centre for Theoretical Physics in the developing countries. He worked very hard for the
development of science in the developing countries in his position as head of the Office
of External Activities. I send my deepest condolences to his family and the ICTP
Community.
We shall miss him.
Francis K. Allotey
Society of African Physicists & Mathematicians
P.O. Box 197
LegonAccra
Ghana
We are in Sao Paulo at the moment for an ALOP workshop. Here's a message from
me and the ALOP team:
We were deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the death of our friend and
colleague Gallieno Denardo on the 23rd July. We would like to extend our sincerest
condolences to his family and his colleagues at ICTP.
We were very fortunate to have worked with Gallieno during the planning phase of
this UNESCO project on Active Learning in Optics and Photonics (ALOP) and we
warmly remember his enthusiastic and skillful support to the project. He was a very kind
person who was always willing to give his time and knowledge to help physics education,
especially in developing countries.
We are deeply saddened that we will not have him around us anymore.
Minella Alarcon (UNESCO), Alex Mazzolini (Australia), Zohra Ben Lakhdar
(Tunisia), Souad Lahmar (Tunisia), Vengu Lakshminarayanan (USA), David
Sokoloff (USA), Ivan Culaba (Philippines), Joel Maquiling (Philippines)
The news about Professor Denardo's death has come as a shock to me, and I wish to
express my heartfelt condolences to his wife, you and to ICTP.
Professor Denardo was a good friend of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
(GAEC). We continue to cherish his duty visits to Ghana (GAEC, University of Cape
Coast, etc) and the numerous instances of assistance he gave us. We pray that the GOOD
LORD will keep his soul in perfect peace and cause his good works to mankind to follow
him.
With much love and prayers!
John H. Amuasi
Coordinator/Dean, School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences
University of Ghana and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
Accra
Ghana
I was shocked and greatly saddened by the news that Gallieno had died. I feel that
we have lost a real force for good in the world. It was an honor to present him with SPIE’s
Educator Award, a token of the respect in which we held him and his contributions. His
genuine interest in the less fortunate through the world and what he did to try to improve
conditions through advancing their scientific infrastructure was inspirational to me and
many in SPIE. I very much enjoyed working with him and hope that we can continue his
good work in some way.
I want you to know that the SPIE leadership is anxious and willing to sustain and
support the optics activities at the ICTP. The sudden loss of our dear friend may put an
additional burden on you. Let us know how we could help.
Sincerely,
Eugene G. Arthurs
CEO
SPIE
I have learned with shock and sadness the untimely death of Prof. Gallieno
Denardo. Indeed ICTP has lost, forever, one of its most loyal friends. Please accept my
heartfelt condolences. May his soul rest in perfect peace!
Alex Asante
University of Cape Coast
Computer Centre
Cape Coast
Ghana
I just came to know about Professor Denardo. I'm very sorry, I saw him a couple
of times, but I'm sure he was a great scientist and person.
Best regards,
Darya Bairasheuskaya
International Sakharov Environmental University (ISEU)
Dolgobrodskaya Str.
P.O. Box 23
220009 Minsk
Belarus
I am greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Denardo. I'm sending
you my most sincere condolences and deepest sympathy on this big loss. I wish to extend
my deepest sympathy to all ICTP staff, all national scientists, researchers and
academicians, and all the international scientific community.
A. Barhadi
Head of PSES Laboratory
Head of the Physics Department
Ecole Normale Supérieure
P.O.Box. 5118
Takaddoum
Rabat
Morocco
I am deeply touched by the death of Professor Gallieno Denardo. I present my
sincere condolences to his family, his friends and all those who knew him. That God has
his heart.
Farida Bentayeb
Département de Physique
Faculté des Sciences
Avenue Ibn Battota
Rabat
Morocco
I'm deeply distressed about the news of the passing away of our good friend
Gallieno Denardo.
We will remember him as an enthusiastic physicist.
Robert Blinc & the Jozef Stefan Institute
The Jozef Stefan Institute
Jamova 39
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
It is with deep regret that I learnt today of the passing away of dear Professor
Denardo. I therefore wish to use this medium to extend my sincere sympathy to the
bereaved family and the entire scientific community over there.
May his soul find rest in perfect peace!
With deep regards,
Brice Rodrigue Malonda Boungou
Université MarienNgouabi
Faculté des Sciences
Département de Physique
B.P. 69
Brazzaville
People's Republic of Congo
I talked to Gallieno at Eleonora's office before my departure. He told me he
wanted to come to ICTP but with difficulty and I advised him to get the POP off first. I
am not lucky. The end has become painful for me. I am left alone. What happened? A
great loss to us in Africa and me especially! I am down with fever and now recovering.
Paul K. BuahBassuah
Laser and Fibre Optics Centre (LAFOC)
Department of Physics
University of Cape Coast
Cape Coast
Ghana
We are still shocked by the news of Gallieno's death. This is a big human and
personal loss.
Gallieno has been not only an excellent and dedicated promoter of scientific
cooperation particularly for the benefit of the poorer countries, but also and above all a
human being with a big heart which never failed when it came to sharing it with others.
He will be greatly missed.
Ana Maria Cetto
DDG
Division of Technical Cooperation Programme
IAEA
Wagramerstrasse 5
P.O. Box 100
Vienna
Austria
Please accept my personal and SIOF's deepest condolences for the sudden death of
our colleague and friend Gallieno Denardo. He was a special person devoted to the
activity in favour of persons from developing countries.
As SIOF representative in the TSOSA committee, I will do my best to continue
supporting the optics activity started by Gallieno.
Anna Consortini
University of Firenze
Italy
I think there is no need to say how deeply the sudden death of Professor Denardo
did hurt me and how sad and sick I feel. I can imagine your email box is full of letters
expressing similar feelings, as Gallieno was a person of a great human and professional
value for many scientists.
This is just to confirm that I would be happy if I could pay my tribute to Professor
Denardo by continuing to work along the lines that I have been following lately with his
advices (STEP students supervision, preparation of some advanced optics training setups,
etc). Professor Denardo was doing practically alone most of the work on the ICTP Winter
College organization, however he has been discussing with me some issues like subjects
to be included in the programme, selection of participants, demonstrations and laboratory
work, visits, etc. I could give a hand to the college directors in the completion of the
college organization, if you think this would be useful.
Sincerely yours,
Miltcho Danailov
Laser Laboratory
SincrotroneTrieste
SS14, km.163.5, 34012Trieste, Italy
I am shocked to know of the sudden demise of Professor Denardo. May his eternal
soul live in peace. I lost a very good mentor. I got his last mail only a week ago. It was a
big blow to know his sudden death. Good people always pass away like that. Please
convey my condolences to the bereaved family.
Prasanta P.K Datta
Department of Physics & Meteorology
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur 721 302
India
He will be missed by many in the optics community.
Tony DeMaria
1981 OSA President
I am very sad reading that Gallieno passed away last month. He was a very kind
person and he supported our initiative for collaboration in the Balkans and Southeast
Europe very strongly.
If there is any way to give our condolence to his family, collaborators and friends, I
would ask you to assist in that.
With my deep condolence to you, sincerely,
Goran Djordjevic
Facuty of Sciences
P.O. Box 224
18001 Nis
Serbia
Back from abroad I found this terrible news. I am deeply shocked to hear that
Gallieno died so suddenly. I lost a most loyal and kind colleague at ICTP and its scientific
community and I would like to share the sorrow of his immediate family.
I feel so sorry for all of us.
Alberto Donà
Former ICTP staff member
On behalf of EBASI and myself, we extend our deeply felt condolences to the
family, friends, and colleagues of Professor Gallieno Denardo. Professor Denardo was a
good citizen and aggressive advocate of ICTP programmes and will be greatly missed.
We, the members of EBASI, are deeply saddened by his death.
EBASI Council Members
Milton D. Slaughter
I am writing this email on behalf of my colleagues at the physics Department,
University of Khartoum, in order to express our deepest grief and sorrow on the passing
of Professor G. Denardo also to show our sympathy to the physics community all over
the world on our greatest loss.
Professor Denardo will be remembered among us as a man of wisdom, courage and
help. Please accept our condolences.
Yours,
Omer I. Eid
Head, Physics Department
University of Khartoum
Sudan
We are deeply distressed by hearing the regretful news about the sudden death of
Professor Gallieno Denardo, the intimate friend of the Sudanese scientific community.
The entire Sudanese laser group at the Sudan Institute for Natural Sciences has received
this very bad news with great sorrow. Please pass our deep condolences to his immediate
family and to all his colleagues in the ICTP and specially his coworkers at the Office of
External Activities (OEA).
Sharaf El Din and
Amna Sirelkhatim
Sudan Institute For Natural Sciences (SIFNS)
P.O. Box 3045
Khartoum
Sudan
With regret and sorrow we just learned in UNESCO about the sudden death of our
friend and longstanding close collaborator, Gallieno Denardo. Gallieno was a motivated
promoter of science in the developing world, helping young people to build their careers,
and helping more advanced researchers to connect and to work together. Throughout his
many years nurturing the ICTP training programme, he helped to create the entire global
community of talented physicists, who will always remember him as somebody they had
great fortune to meet on their scientific way. In general, Gallieno will be fondly
remembered by all who had the pleasure to know him and work with him. He
participated in many activities run by ICTP together with UNESCO SC. When he learned
about SESAME, for instance, he became immediately involved and enthusiastic. He was
a member of the first SESAME Training Committee, formed in 1999. ICTP will never be
the same without Gallieno. We join you in mourning this unexpected and premature loss.
Yours sincerely,
W. Erdelen
Assistant DirectorGeneral for Natural Sciences
UNESCO
I feel very sorry. Professor Denardo was one of the outstanding international
fellows, and had many friends all over the world. His contribution to the scientific
community will remain for ever.
Best regards.
Mohamed Ewiss
Professor of Physics
Director of HEQAA
Faculty of Science
Cairo University
Giza, Egypt
Hola!!!!! Death is bad! Death is very bad! How can Professor Denardo die? He
disappeared with his lovely loud laugh? What loss for the whole ICTP family! What loss
for us at IMSP in Benin! He was one of the greatest authors of the setting up of IMSP
since its starting point in 1988. So far he did a lot for its development. He also put a lot of
time and effort into the access of the African young people to science during these last
twenty years.
We share the pain of Director Sreenivasan and that of ICTP members. We have a
compassionate thought to the immediate family of Gallieno Denardo.
God welcome Gallieno's Soul.
JeanPierre Ezin
Institut de Mathematiques et de Sciences Physiques (IMPS)
B.P. 613
Porto Novo
Benin
Please accept, and convey to his family, the condolences and best wishes of the APS
Office of International Affairs.
Amy K. Flatten
The American Physical Society
One Physics Ellipse
College Park
Maryland 207403844
USA
First of all let me express my deep sorry for the sudden death of Professor Denardo.
I extend my condolences to all staff members at the ICTP as well as to his family. It is a
great pity for the ICTP and the University of Trieste to lose such a very active and
valuable eminent professor. He was helping the researchers from the developing countries
in all manners possible. I am one of them who will never forget his great help to me such
as my participation in most of the winter colleges on atomic, molecular and laser physics
at the beginning of my research career at Cairo university. Later on, I was appointed also
by his kind influence as an associate member so it gave me more opportunity to pay
frequent visits to the ICTP. These visits allowed me to meet eminent professors who were
invited to the scientific activities which were organized by Professor Denardo on lasers
and discuss my scientific problems with them. These visits in turn promoted my scientific
career so I could occupy high posts at the National Institute of Laser Enhanced Science
(NILES) which was established at Cairo University in 1994 with advanced laser
equipment and detection systems that can be used for different applications. Moreover, he
tried to push this institute to be a centre of excellence for laser science and its
applications, particularly for the African and Arabic countries, where he supported some
very successful scientific activities to be held at Niles. In fact, he did a lot, so all that I
can say now is: may the mercy of GOD cover him.
Yosr Gamal
Prof.Yosr E ED Gamal
Al TAAWEN Residental Palace
P.O.Box 18703 Jeddah 21425
Saudi Arabia
Je suis toujours triste et abattu. Je n'arrive toujours pas à absorber le choc de
perdre un grand ami comme professeur Denardo. C'etait pour moi un ami et un père à la
fois. Il nous a aidés et secourus lorsque les choses allaient vraiment mal à Alger; il nous a
fait pratiquement évacuer d'Alger et nous a offer un refuge à Trieste. Fairouz et moi, nous
ne l'oublierons jamais. Je n'arrive même pas à accepter le fait de me retrouver à l'ICTP
sans rencontrer Gallieno. Je suis sûr que ce sentiment est partagé par la majorité des amis
de l'ICTP. Je compte venir à Trieste le 1 septembre pour visiter la tombe de Gallieno et
faire le deuil de sa mort.
L'équipe de "external activities" est l'image du professor Denardo et nous devons
préserver son esprit en travaillant et en maintenant les mêmes motivations qui l'ont
toujours animé.
Oui, j'ai mis du temps pour te répondre mais c'était plus fort que moi et j'espère que
tu vas me pardonner. C'était un choc terrible et horrible. Avant de terminer, je vais écrire
au directeur de l'ICTP et lui proposer de donner le nom du Professeur Denardo au Winter
College of Optics. J'en ai déjà parlé à Ahmadou Wague et il partage mon idée.
Taieb Gasmi
Unidad de Lasers y Haces Moleculares
Instituto Pluridisciplinar
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Paseo Juan XXIII, 1
28040 Madrid
Spain
I received your message yesterday of Gallieno Denardo’s death with a profound
feeling of loss and grief. He had tremendous influence on my development as a scientist
and professional and had also, over the past twenty years, grown to be a good friend. I
know that he had similar influence on many other ICTP Associates and other researchers
and students from developing countries who benefited from the programs in optics that he
fashioned.
It is difficult for me as an individual to articulate my sense of loss. The word
unspeakable describes my feelings as well as any. As a Senior Associate I hear the word
orphaned in my mind, and indeed, I think that many other Associates and beneficiaries of
ICTP’s activities in optics will feel similarly deprived of—cut off from—the enormous
support and encouragement that Gallieno gave us in our professional careers and
initiatives. Gallieno was the bridge between optical scientists in developing countries,
numerous members of the worldwide scientific community of researchers and educators
in optics and lasers, and the central ICTP leadership. That bridge is now gone.
As the Chair of the TSOSA Committee, which on Gallieno’s behalf has had
responsibility for advising ICTP in the area of optics activities, I care deeply that his
longterm efforts and achievements survive him and that his and the Committee’s
expectations for the establishment of a permanent research program in optics at ICTP be
realized. I can think of no better way of honoring his memory than through the continuity
and further development of his programs and the ultimate achievement of his goals. I
speak in this regard not only for myself but, I am certain, for all members of the
Committee representing major international scientific and technical societies and
organizations concerned with optics. Please know that we are prepared to work with you
in all possible ways to see the continuation of Gallieno Denardo’s legacy and the
furthering of his cause.
In closing, let me ask you to convey, on my behalf and that of an enormous number
of people in the international community of optics, sincere condolences to Gallieno’s
family.Sincerely,
Angela M. Guzmán
Profesor Emerito
Departamento de Fisica
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
ICO VicePresident, Chair,
Committee for Regional Development of Optics
P.O. Box 812530 Boca Raton, FL 334812530
USA
I have just been reached by the news of the sudden death of Professor Gallieno
Denardo.
As you know ISP at Uppsala University is an organisation trying to assist
developing countries to build research capacity up within the basic sciences. Through
this work I came to know Gallieno many years back and I also had the privilege to work
with him as a member of the "advisory committee" of the "Office of External Activities".
Gallieno was a respected physicist. We are many who will remember him for his
seriousness in his work to assist physicists in developing countries. He was a very warm
and generous person and though him many physicists in developing countries got the
opportunity to do research work. His special interest in optics has meant that especially
laser physics has been introduced in many places. His work will not be forgotten. The
research environments to which he contributed a lot will continue to produce MSc and
PhD theses and scientific articles.
His death is a great loss to the scientific community and especially to scientists in
developing countries.
Please convey our deepest sympathy to his family.
For ISP, Uppsala University, but also as a personal friend,
Lennart Hasselgren
IPPS
Uppsala University
Box 549
SE751 21 Uppsala
Sweden
I am so sad, really, to hear about the loss of our "father", the beloved Denardo.
Since I have received the bad news I am always remembering Professor Denardo who has
helped me and many others. I remember him as a nice person, helpful and brave man.
May God rest his soul in heaven, Amen.
Please accept my sincere condolences on his death and pass them to his familly.
Akram Ibrahim
Department of Physics
University of Khartoum
P.O. Box 321
Khartoum
Sudan
This is truly a sad occasion for me. I have known Gallieno for nearly 20 years
having first met at ICTP in 1989. I have found him to be one of the warmest and caring
individuals that I have ever met and we fast became friends. The ICTP outreach
programs have lost a tireless friend, mentor and benevolent instigator in Gallieno—I can't
image who could fill his very large shoes!
Anthony M. Johnson
2002 OSA President
Je viens d'apprendre le décès inopiné de notre très cher ami et soutien à l'ICTP: le
Pr. Denardo.
Nous n'avons aucune peine à imaginer la profonde douleur dans laquelle nous
plonge ce triste évènement.
Nous n'y sommes pas préparés d'autant plus que je l'ai eu au telephone il y a 10
jours juste avant mon retour. Il me renouvelait ses encouragements pour ce que nous
faisions tant il y croyait autant sinon plus que nous.
C'est un grand Africain que nous venons de perdre.
Partageons notre tristesse, notre douleur car elles seraient insupportables autrement.
Sincerement et amicalement.
Melanie Keita
JocelyneBosson
Eugene Megnassan
Université AboboAdjame
02 BP 801
Abidjan 02
Côte d'Ivoire
I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to you and the family of late Gallieno
Denardo on his sudden untimely departure from this world. May Almighty God grant to
all of you the courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss, and perfect peace to the
departed soul!
You have rightly mentioned that one must value the presence of his friend(s). One
feels much more on the departure of his friend than his relatives because he is more
intimate and close to his friend.
With kind regards,
Yours truly,
Reyaz Khan
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Federal University of Technology
Minna
PMB 65
Niger State
Nigeria
Yesterday I received the sad news. It is with a big sorrow and indeed a great loss. It
seems to me that this space will remain empty for long.
To me especially—as you know for sure—he did great favours and helped me a lot.
May God keep his soul in rest and peace and may give the courage of bearing this
great lost to everybody who liked him.
Alireza Moradi Koshkabadi
Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS)
Gava Zang
P.O. Box 45195159
45195 Zanjan
Iran
Please accept my heartiest condolences on the death of Professor Denardo. I recall
showering encomiums on Professor Dernado in your presence at the dinner for the 'Africa
Day'—because of the honourable mention he got from various speakers that day for his
remarkable contributions to ICTP and in particular the creation of enduring research
institutions on optics in Africa. It is difficult to now imagine that I was in fact talking to
him for the last time.
ICTP, and indeed the third world and Italy, have lost a great man who cannot be
adequately replaced but suffice it to say that his highly productive and inspiring life is a
great legacy that will make his memory very fresh and indelible in the minds of his many
wellwishers across the globe.
Please extend my condolences to members of his family.
With best regards,
Aderemi Kuku
University of Iowa
Iowa State, Iowa
USA
I have been on leave and I am really shocked by Gallieno's death. It is hard to
believe that he will no longer be with us. We will miss him a lot.
Vladimir Kurghinyan
Division for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific
IAEA
Wagramerstrasse 5
P.O. Box 100
Vienna
Austria
I have just learnt the extremely bad news that Professor Gallieno Denardo passed
away two weeks ago. I feel so sad with his sudden death. He did so much for the
promotion of science and education in our country. We are very grateful to him and
remember him for that.
Nguyen Anh Ky
Vietnam Academy of Sciences & Technology (VAST)
Institute of Physics and Electronics
10 Dao Tan
Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Vietnam
Comment exprimer mes sentiments pour la mort de Denardo. C'est une perte pour
nous tous: je dois signaler que le développement de la cooperation Sud Sud qu'il a
soutenu et permis de se développer avec le Cameroun, le Maroc, l'Egypte, a ete pour nous
une opération exceptionnelle. Il a créé une grande famille, une famille du monde entier
qui se retrouve tous les ans. Il était prêt à aider à tout moment. Je n'ai pas de mots pour
exprimer ma reconnaissance pour Denardo. C'etait un grand homme. Je suis actuellement
au Brésil pour un workshop: ALOP. Il en fait partie par son attitude toujours positive et
encourageante pour le développement de l'optique.
Bien cordialement et toutes mes condoléances pour ICTP.
Zohra Ben Lakhdar
Department of Physics
Faculty of Sciences
University of Tunis II
Campus University
Tunis 1060
Tunisia
I just learned with much sorrow of Gallieno´s passing away. I remember his
tremendous help during my Multiciencias years.
Please pass my condolences to the Director and the Centre staff.
Victor Latorre
Universidad Ricardo Palma
Centro de Investigación
Avenida Benavides 5440
Lima 33, Perú
This is sad news. Gallieno was part of that first corps of staffers to breath life into
Abdus Salam's grand design at ICTP.
Irving A. Lerch
1733 Riggs Place, NW
Washington, DC 20009
USA
As a member of the OSA and an Editorial Advisory Committee member of the
OPN, I feel great sadness to hear this sad news. Professor Denardo has ever made great
contributions to the ICTP and our optics community. His sudden passing is a great loss
for us. With this email, I'd like to express my personal condolence on his passing, and to
join the science community in mourning his loss.
Changsheng Li
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
I am sorry for it.
Yours,
Zeng Luo Wang
Department of Physics
School of Science
Xian Jiaotong University
Xianning Road
Xian 710049
People's Republic of China
It is with a deep sadness that I have received the information about EL
PROFESSORI.
I can confirm that mother Africa specifically and the Developing World in general
has lost an ICONE: EL PROFESSORI.
Well, if the nature has decided to do so, we shall accept but certain humans can
leave this world physically but not in mind.
"Les Etres sont grands par les pas qu'ils font, leurs destinée, c'est d'aller portant
l'arche, ce n'est pas d'atteindre le but mais de rester en marche".
I hope that the Abdus Salam ICTP and other partner institutions with all associates
would be joining hand to hand in honoring EL PROFESSORI for ever.
May God bless!
Malik Maaza
iTHEMBA Labs.
P O Box 722
Somerset West, 7129
Cape Province
South Africa
I'm very sorry for the bad news of the death of Professor Denardo. For me,
Professor Denardo represented my entry contact to the Abdus Salam ICTP, when I
participated in the 1985 Winter College on Lasers and Spectroscopy. He encouraged me
to apply for the Associateship award, and supported my application. Afterwards, he
invited me to participate in several LAMP seminars. As director of the Office of External
activities, Professor Denardo supported me in different activities. For these, and many
other reasons, I consider myself in the group of physicists more badly affected for the
absence of Professor Denardo. I will always remember him with my highest gratitude.
Best regards,
Jorge Mahecha
Instituto de Fisica
Universidad de Antioquia
Calle 67 No. 53108
A.A. 1226
Medellin
Colombia
Knowing Gallieno for more than 40 years, it is very hard for me to believe he has
passed away. He has been such a great help for scientific communication between Iran
and the rest of the world via ICTP. How sad it is!
Reza Mansouri
Sharif University of Technology
Department of Physics
P.O. Box 113659161
Azadi Ave.
Tehran 145888949
Islamic Republic of Iran
The news about the sudden death of Professor Denardo was a shock for me and
made me very sad! He dedicated his life to education and improvement of physics,
especially Optical Physics. The Winter Colleges on Optics and Photonics, which were
organised by him, had a large impact on physicists from around the world.
Professor Denardo was a great person. He was very nice and kind. The ICTP
community, specially the Associates of ICTP, lost a great colleague, the person who was
always trying to help somebody.
Arashmid Nahal
University of Tehran
Faculty of Science
Department of Physics
North Karegar Ave.
P.O. Box 14395547
14394 Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Professor Denardo was my coordinator for my STEP fellowship during 20032006. I
am so grateful that he helped me a lot from the beginning of the fellowship and even
afterwards in order to make the visits as advantageous as possible. He also supported me
to attend the ICTP optics winter colleges three times. Three to four times it happened that
he called me "my old young friend". Now when I remember the way in which he said
this, I feel I miss him.
We missed a great friend of our world forever, in my opinion.
Alireza Moradi
Institute for Advanced Studies in
Basic Sciences (IASBS)
Gava Zang
P.O. Box 45195159
Zanjan
Iran
I am deeply sorry to know that Professor Gallieno Denardo went to God recently. I
have met him many times during my visits to ICTP as well as in connection with my
request for the financing of our dissemination activities—workshops and conferences
here in Costa Rica. Every time I requested money, he always approved some and gave
moral support. I even met him only 3 weeks ago and found him well and still active
working at his ICTP office. Well that's the life.
I wish and pray that Almighty God give peace to his soul and courage to his family
to accept this unpredictable and unfortunately unavoidable part of the life.
Sincerely yours,
Shyam S. Nandwani
Professor
Lab. de Energia Solar
Dept. de Fisica,
Universidad Nacional, Heredia.
Costa Rica
La mort du Professeur Denardo est une perte immense non seulement pour la
communauté scientifique mondiale mais surtout pour la communauté Africaine a qui il a
bien su donner son soutien pour que vive à jamais la Science en Afrique. Nous n'avons
pas perdu qu'un soutien, mais aussi un conseiller, un père et surtout une Référence.
Que la terre de nos Ancêtres lui soit légère!
Merlin Ngachin
Centre de Physique Atomique Moléculaire Optique Quantique (CEPAMOQ)
Faculté des Sciences
Université de Douala
B.P. 8580
Douala
Cameroon
Je ne saurais jamais exprimer toute la douleur que j'ai eue en apprenant la mort
subite du Professeur Denardo. Je n'en reviens pas à ce jour à croire à son décès effectif. Je
revois en image ce très grand éminant Professeur doué d'une générosité sans précédent.
Toujours à l'écoute des autres et prêt à apporter son appui constant au développement des
pays moins nantis. Cette disparition est une perte énorme pour la communauté
scientifique, l'Italie, l'ICTP et encore plus pour l'Afrique à qui il accordait son soutien.
Je suis en larme en t'envoyant, ainsi qu'à l'ICTP, ce message de condoléance auquel
j'associe l'expression de ma profonde compassion et douleur.
Le professeur Denardo, pour ces quelques années que je l'ai connu m'a
profondement marqué par son humanisme. Sans pourtant exagérer, je le prenais pour un
père. Ses nombreuses oeuvres resteront à jamais gravées dans des mémoires. Nous
continuerons de les perpétuer pour saluer sa mémoire.
Hugues Merlain Tetchou Nganso
Faculty of Science
University of Yaoundé I
Yaoundé
Cameroon
J'arrive à l'instant dans mon bureau à Douala après une semaine d'absence. Je suis
littéralement choqué et effondré à la lecture de votre message. C'est un moment de peine
immense pour moi, semblable à celle que j'ai connue lors du decès de mon père il y a
quelques années. Pour avoir travaillé avec le Professeur Denardo pendant plus d'une
décennie, je puis dire que son decès est une véritable catastrophe pour l'Afrique. J'ai
toujours été profondement marqué par la place toute particulière que ce continent
occupait dans le coeur du Professeur Denardo. Comme j'ai eu à le dire dans les
universités d'Afrique Centrale que j'ai visitées depuis janvier 2006 dans le cadre du
rayonnement régional du CEPAMOQ, sans le Professeur Denardo j'aurai quitté l'Afrique
au milieu des années 1990. Je ne peux exprimer combien nous apprecions la présence du
Professeur Denardo à nos côtés. Son seul nom, un simple message de sa part, nous
rassuraient et nous motivaient quelque soit le problème à résoudre. Il n'y a pas de terme
pour qualifier ce qu'il representait pour nous en qui il avait placé une certaine confiance
dans la formation des capacités humaines dans nos pays à travers les Centres Affiliés.
Nous lui seront redevables à jamais pour cette oeuvre immense à laquelle il a consacre
toute sa vie. Au dela de son soutien constant pour un enracinement durable de la science
dans nos pays en développement, le Professeur Denardo était un grand humaniste, et
probablement l'homme le plus généreux que j'aie jamais connu. Sa mémoire se perpetuera
à travers ce que nous entreprenons dans le domaine de la formation et dont il était
indeniablement la cheville ouvrière.
En cette circonstance douloureuse, je vous prie de transmettre à sa famille et à
l'ICTP si durement éprouvés, les condoléances les plus attristées des chercheurs, étudiants
et personnel d'appui du CEPAMOQ auxquelles j'associe l'expression de ma profonde
compassion.
Moise Kwato Njock
Centre de Physique Atomique Moléculaire Optique Quantique (CEPAMOQ)
Faculté des Sciences
Université de Douala
B.P. 8580
Douala
Cameroon
I am writing to offer my condolences to Professor Denardo's family and his
collaborators and friends.
The passing of Professor Denardo is not only a big loss for those who have known
him but for the entire research community.
Sincerely,
Lukas Novotny
University of Rochester
The Institute of Optics
River Campus, Wilmot Bldg.
Rochester, NY 14627
USA
Yesterday, we heard about the sad news of Professor Gallieno Denardo’s sudden
death. On behalf of our president, Professor Roberta Ramponi, we would like to express
our deepest sympathy for this great loss. We had the honor and the pleasure to know
Professor Denardo and were very sorry to hear about his passing away. We had the
greatest respect for his valued work for the ICTP.
With affection and deepest condolences,
Klaus Nowitzki
Executive Director
European Optical Society
I write to sympathise with you and the entire body of ICTP over the sudden death of
Professor G. Denardo.
I am a fellow of the Sandwich Training Educational Programme which he headed
until his death. Professor Denardo was always cheerful and kind hearted.
May his soul rest in perfect peace!
Please accept my sympathy,
Folasade Olajuyigbe
Department of Chemistry
School of Sciences
Federal University of Technology
Akure
Ondo State
Nigeria
The Optical Society of America mourns the passing of Gallieno Denardo
With great sadness, we share the news of the sudden passing of Gallieno Denardo.
We've lost a friend of the OSA and the optics community. Denardo was the coordinator of
the optics and laser programs at Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
(ICTP) and professor of theoretical physics at the University of Trieste, Italy. Denardo had
been with the ICTP since its start, serving as the longtime head of the Office of External
Activities and consultant of the office. He was instrumental in establishing and running
all ICTP activities on optics, including the laboratory, the schools and workshops, and the
ICO/ICTP Award.
Denardo led the ICTP Winter College, which OSA cosponsors and many of our
members from around the world attend. He was a long time friend and OSA supporter
and we join the science community in mourning his loss.
We were shocked to learn about the death of Professor Denardo from our colleagues
in Trieste yesterday. It is a great loss for all of us and for the scientific community.
We present our sincere condolences to his family, friends and all the staff of the
Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics on the occasion of untimely
death of Prof. Denardo.
Profoundly mourning,
Valentin A. Orlovich
Head of Laboratory of nonlinear optics
B.I.Stepanov Institute of Physics
National Academy of Sciences of Belarus
68 Nezalezhnasti Ave., 220072 Minsk
Belarus
I am still deeply distressed at the sudden death of Professor Denardo. Once again,
let me tell you that I share the sorrow of the entire ICTP community.
Yours sincerely,
Luc Owono Owono
Department of Physics
Ecole Normale Supérieure
The University of Yaounde I
P.O. Box 47
Yaoundé
Cameroon
It is with great sadness that I learned about the death of my friend and colleague,
Professor Gallieno Denardo. He has been a wellknown and respected member of the
international scientific community in optics and laser physics for many years, and will be
remembered as an extremely pleasant and effective scientist. Professor Denardo will be
remembered by all who knew or worked with him for his thoughtful stewardship of the
numerous programmes of the OEA, his genuine concern for fostering the next generation
of young scientists in developing countries and his sense of humour. He will be greatly
missed by all his friends and colleagues in Belarus.
Alexander Pankov
Head of the ICTP Affiliated Centre
Gomel, Belarus
Andrei Tsytrinov and Inna Serenkova (STEP students)
I feel much sorrow for the loss of Prof. Gallieno Denardo. I have been one of his
"Laurea" students at the University of Trieste; he was the supervisor of my "tesina", an
essay that all students at the University of Trieste in the '90s had to write in addition to
their main "tesi" in order to graduate with the Bachelor's degree. Because of him and his
initiatives I was able to discover the rich world of optics and lasers. We remained in close
contact after my Laurea, and he supported and encouraged me much in the doctoral
studies in Optics which I am pursuing at the University of Rochester in the US. Above all
he transmitted to me, every time that I talked to him, the sense of the importance and
seriousness of scientific work, and he has been a constant example with his passion for
work and for things; and besides this he helped me to understand, both with his constant
example and with his explanations of many situations, the sense of the ICTP mission. He
was an important person for my life, and the memory of him remains to me as an
invaluable reference point.
Giovanni Piredda
University of Rochester
The Institute of Optics
River Campus, Wilmot Bldg.
Rochester, NY 14627
USA
We at SPIE are very saddened by the loss of Gallieno Denardo. Our Board of
Directors and Education Committee will meet at the end of August and they will be
discussing 2008 program support. SPIE is planning to continue our longterm financial
support of the Winter College and would like to offer assistance in program development
if needed.
Our organisation was also working with Gallieno on establishing a longterm
programme on Optics at the ICTP. According to Gallieno, he had discussed the details of
this project with the ICTP Director, Prof. Sreenivasan, who was supportive of
collaboration.
We look forward to helping you carry forward the great work that Gallieno started.
Best regards,
Krisinda Plenkovich
Director, Education Services and Membership
SPIE
On behalf of the Optical and Spectroscopic Society of Vietnam (OSSV), we mourn
with you the loss of an eminent scientist and great friend—Professor Gallieno Denardo.
We shall remember him, his smile and his excellent contribution to the development
of optics, laser and spectroscopy in Vietnam.
We send our deepest sympathy to his family.
Yours sincerely,
VU XUAN QUANG (President)
NGUYEN DAI HUNG (Secretary General)
Optical and Spectroscopic Society of Vietnam (OSSV)
10 Dao Tan Str., Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Vietnam
It is so sad to receive the news of the sudden death of Gallieno. I got to know him
about 4 years ago in Trieste. He was such a helpful, tireless and enthusiastic staff member
of ICTP.
He will always be remembered by all of us in SESAME for his valuable work as a
member of the first SESAME Training Committee.
I wish to express my sincere condolences to his family and to his colleagues at
ICTP.
Javad Rahighi
Nuclear Research Center
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
Van de Graaff Laboratory
P.O. Box 113658486
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
It was very sad for me to hear suddenly the loss of Professor Gallieno Denardo. He
was a very kind man and with him, we lose one of the most loyal and active friends. I
would like to ask you to present our condolences and sympathy to his family members
and to the ICTP.
Best regards,
Gérard Rambolamanana
University of Antananarivo
Institute and Observatory of Geophysics In Antananarivo
P.O. Box 3843
101 Antananarivo
Madagascar
We will all miss Gallieno very much as a friend, as a scientist and as an organizer. I
offer my personal collaboration and that of EOS to work for the Optics programme in
ICTP.
With my best regards,
Roberta Ramponi
Dipartimento di Fisica
Politecnico di Milano
Milano
Italy
I am saddened by this news. Professor Denardo was very helpful to me in working
with the ICTP affiliated centres in Senegal and Ghana. The professors and students in
those centres and at other institutions in Africa always spoke highly of him. I am grateful
for the assistance and encouragement that he gave them and me.
Warm regards,
Kennedy Reed
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Mail Stop L41
Livermore, CA 94550
USA
I have just learned with a great deal of sorrow about the sudden death of Professor
Gallieno Denardo. It has made me very sad. I knew Professor Denardo since 1968 when I
started visiting ICTP. He was one of the finest human beings I have ever come across and
a true friend of Pakistani Physics Community. We will greatly miss him. May his soul rest
in peace! Please convey our heartfelt condolences to his family.
Riazuddin
National Centre for Physics
QuaidiAzam University
Islamabad
Pakistan
I was most saddened to hear of the tragic sudden death of Gallieno two weeks ago.
I have just heard. Please accept my sincere condolences, and pass them on to his family.
He was an enterprising man with a truly international heart, who was solely devoted to
the objectives of the ICTP. You will recall I visited ICTP in June to discuss how the
Townes Institute might support and augment his optics programme, and I met you then
and earlier this year at the meeting in Pakistan.
I too have a strong sense of the need to make science international, and these
thoughts were motivated very much by Gallieno's mission. With his sudden passing, I
would like to offer you any assistance I can possibly provide, to fill in for his absence.
Regardless, I want to assure you that we still wish to pursue making a stronger
relationship with ICTP, and to strengthen the optics program you have. In this connection,
I would add that I am in close communication with Eugene Arthurs, the CEO of the
International SPIE, who has been in contact with you also on the same subject.
Please let me know if I can help in any way,
Best regards, with condolences,
Martin Richardson, University Trustee Chair
Northrop Grumman Professor of XRay Photonics
Townes Laser Institute
College of Optics & Photonics
University of Central Florida
4000, Central Florida Blvd, Orlando, FL 328162700
USA
It is indeed a sad day. Gallieno was full of life, caring, and positive energy, in
particular, for finding ways in helping young optical scientists from the developing world.
I was privileged to spend some time with Gallieno on the occasion of my former student's
2005 ICTP/ICO Prize ceremony in Trieste. Abdus Salam would be proud of Gallieno for
his vital contributions to the ICTP vision.
Nabeel Riza
Professor of Optics and Electrical Engineering
College of Optics/CREOL
University of Central Florida
USA
It was a great shock to hear about the sudden death of Professor Gallieno Denardo.
We all share the sorrow and the great loss. May his soul rest in peace! All the scientific
community associated with ICTP will remain highly indebted for what he did for the
cause of ICTP and the service that he did for ICTP will always be remembered.
With best regards,
Tasneem Zahra Rizvi
Department of Physics
QuaidiAzam University
Islamabad
Pakistan
On behalf of the entire community of the Optical Society of America, I wish to
express my deepest condolences to you, your staff and to the family of Gallieno Denardo.
Dr. Denardo's contributions to this field are innumerable and he will be remembered for
his science and for the strong support he offered his colleagues from around the world.
Already we have several notes about how he influenced others posted on our website.
I know his unexpected passing is a huge loss for you personally and for your
organisation. You have my deepest sympathy.
We're really going to miss Gallieno.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth A. Rogan
Optical Society of America (Osa)
2010 Massachusetts Avenue. Nw
DC 20036 Washington DC
USA
I was deeply also distressed at hearing this.
Best Regards
A. A. Saboury
University of Tehran
Institute of Biochemistry & Biophysics
P.O. Box 131451384
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
I am deeply grieved to learn about the sudden death of Professor Denardo. During
my numerous visits to the Abdus Salam ICTP since 1976 I always found him to be very
helpful. The ICTP community will always remember his smiling and friendly face as well
as his numerous contributions to the International Centre. Kindly convey my condolences
to his near and dear ones on my own behalf as well as on behalf of my colleagues here in
the GIK Institute.
With best regards,
Abdullah Sadiq
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology,
Topi, District Swabi
NWFP
Pakistan
I received the news of the demise of Professor Denardo with a great shock.
Kindly accept my condolences.
Sincerely,
Ola Sule Salawu
Department of Biochemistry
Federal University of Technology
P.M.B. 704
Akure
Nigeria
Thank you very much for informing us. Please accept and convey my condolences
to his family members. I knew him since I first visited ICTP in 1996.
Sincerely from,
Md Saion Salikin
Faculty of Health Sciences
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Jalan Othman 46000
Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
I am extremely sorry to hear this news. Due to the passing away of Professor G.
Denardo, ICTP as well as researchers in third world countries, has lost a dynamic
researcher, who was always there with helping hands, fantastic coordinator, a gentle man
and a nice human being. No one can fill this gap.
I am hereby extending my heartfelt condolence to the immediate family of Professor
Gallieno Denardo.
C. Santhosh
Centre for Laser Spectroscopy
Manipal Life Sciences Centre
Manipal University
Manipal 576104
Karnatka
India
I was very sorry to hear of the passing away of Gallieno Denardo. He was very
supportive of our efforts for the SESAME project and will be remembered with gratitude
by the SESAME community.
Warm regards,
Zehra Sayers
Sabanci University
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Biological Sciences and Bioengineering Program
Orhanli, Tuzla
34956 Istanbul
Turkey
I am sad to receive this very sad news concerning the death of Professor Gallieno
Denardo. Please accept my sincere condolences.
My condolences are also addressed to the whole scientific and administrative
community of ICTP and to his family.
M.B. Sedra
Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
Faculté des Sciences
Université Mohammed V
Avenue Ibn Battota, B.P. 1004
Rabat
Morocco
I am deeply depressed to know the sad and untimely demise of Professor Gallieno
Denardo who was associated with ICTP. To me he was a guide and good friend. I hope
his family finds enough strength in this tough period.
May his soul rest in peace!
Yours sincerely,
Ishwar Paul Sharma
Department of Soil Science and Water Management
Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry
Nauni
Solan173 230 (Himachal Pradesh)
India
It is a big shock to me at this moment! Yesterday I had very kind email from him
encouraging us as usual.
I am deeply sorry for the ICTP society and also for us Africans it is a big loss.
Personally he had a big hand in shaping my career.
I lost my words.
Tahani Shatir
University of Khartoum
Faculty of Veterinary Science
P.O.Box 321
13314 Khartoum
Sudan
It is shocking news for me and a great loss for the scientific community and, in
particular for the STEP programme, through which I had known Professor Denardo and
had a privilege to work with him.
Best regards,
Peter Stegnar
The Jozef Stefan Institute
Jamova 39
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
con profonda commozione partecipo al dolore Vostro e del Direttore
prof.Sreenivasan per la grave perdita che colpisce il mondo della scienza. Nell'attesa di
rivederci, esprimo i sentimenti miei personali e della Federazione Italiana Club
UNESCO.
Marialuisa Stringa
Presidente Centro UNESCO Firenze e Federazione Club Centri UNESCO
On behalf of the Optics community of Argentina, the ICO Territorial Committee
shares the deep sorrow of all Argentinean colleagues for the sudden death of Professor
Gallieno Denardo. We recognize him as a keen person, devoted to the promotion of
optical research in the underdeveloped countries. His name was always related to support
extending activities in all branches of Optics in the form of courses, workshops and
networks. He undoubtedly helped us to promote the diverse optical activities and
to develop the research groups in South America and in particular in our country.
Those of us who were lucky to know him will always remember his kind and warm
character.
Argentinian ICO Territorial Committee
Myrian Tebaldi
Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas , CIOp
Camino Parque Centenario entre 505 y 508, Gonnet (1897)
P.O. Box 124, La Plata (1900)
Argentina
It is with great sorrow that the National Academies and the United States Advisory
Committee for the International Commission on Optics (USACICO) learned of the
recent passing of Gallieno Denardo. We very much appreciated his dedication to optics
activities at ICTP, especially the Laboratory, the schools and workshops, and the
ICO/ICTP Award. He was truly a leader in the community.
The National Academies and the USAC/ICO hope that the ICTP will find a way to
carry on the many important activities supported by Dr. Denardo, particularly the Winter
College on Optics. As you know, these schools have covered a number of topics of
importance to the optics and photonics community, such as quantum and classical aspects
of information optics; optics and photonics in nanoscience and nanotechnology;
interferometry and applications in modern physics; and biophotonics. The US optics
community has appreciated the opportunity to work with the ICTP and to hold courses
and workshops there, and we strongly hope that this relationship will continue so that Dr.
Denardo's legacy will live on.
Kathie Bailey Mathae
Director
Board on International Scientific Organisations
The National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
USA
In the name of the Optical Research Center (CIOp) of Argentina we convey to the
authorities of ICTP, and through them to the family, friends and colleagues of Professor
Denardo our most felt condolences for the death of such a distinguished scientist and
person. Our institutional and personal bonds with him go back to the beginning of the
eighties, and since then, Professor Denardo always stimulated our activities in a decisive
way.
Jorge O. Tocho
Director
Centro de Investigaciones Ópticas
Camino Centenario y 506
1897 La Plata
Argentina
I am very sad and distressed by the sudden lost of Professor Denardo with whom I
befriended all these years.
Le Dung Trang
Head
Mathematics Section
ICTP
It is my deep sorrow to hear that Professor G. Denardo has passed away. On behalf
of the Vietnamese scientific community I would like to express to the Abdus Salam
International Centre for Theoretical Physics and to the family of Professor G. Denardo
our sincere condolences.
Nguyen Van Hieu
Institute of Theoretical Physics
Institute of Physics & Electronics
VAST
P.O. Box 429
Bo Ho, Hanoi 10000
Vietnam
We all share about the untimely death of Gallieno. I do agree that the best homage
we can pay to Gallieno is to further his plans for Optics at ICTP and see that they come to
fruition. We all have lost an irreplaceable colleague, and colleague.
Best wishes.
Vengu
Prof. Vasudevan "Vengu" Lakshminarayanan
Professor of Optometry, Electrical Engineering and Physics
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo ON N2L 3G1
Canada
We were deeply shocked by the sudden death of Professor Gallieno Denardo—an
eminent scientist and great friend. We had known him for almost 30 years and greatly
appreciated not only his outstanding contribution to the development of physics in
Vietnam and the developing countries but also his warm personality. It is still really hard
to believe we shall never see him again.
We share your loss and send our deepest sympathy to his family.
Yours sincerely,
NGUYEN AI VIET (Director. Institute of Physics and Electronics
IPE, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology VAST)
NGUYEN DAI HUNG (ViceDirector, IPE. Director, Center for Quantum
Electronics, IPE)
Optical and Spectroscopic Society of Vietnam (OSSV)
10 Dao Tan Str., Ba Dinh
Hanoi
Vietnam
I just received the sad news that Gallieno Denardo passed away. Gallieno was a
great friend of mine and we have shared during more than thirty years extraordinary
experiences of promotion of science in the Third World. I feel his loss as that of a brother
and already called his family to express to his wife my deepest condolences. However,
Gallieno was a person so deeply related to ICTP and identified with its philosophy and
ideals, that I consider necessary to express also to you, and to the Centre my condolences
for this loss. With Gallieno ICTP has lost a key person who has given a tremendous
contribution to the success of the Center. Those who had the fortune of knowing him and
collaborating with him and of benefiting from his dedication will never forget Gallieno.
Unfortunately, I will not be in Italy next Monday but I accompany in spirit all
Gallieno's friends and relatives and the colleagues of ICTP in the burial ceremony.
Yours,
Leo Violini
Dipartimento di Fisica
Universita della Calabria
Italy
We are living a hard moment: Gallieno's passage from this world.
Gallieno always supported us and was the key person in the organization of the
Winter Colleges in Optics, a prestigious international school, where it was possible to
meet both eminent professors and excellent students from all countries (without any
discrimination).
I shall support (with ICO, OSA, SPIE, EOS) the continuation of this generous
activity, which I suggest to bear the name "Gallieno Denardo".
He also supported the collaboration between ICTP and Romanian researchers in
physics. We shall also continue this collaboration and we shall dedicate one meeting in
optics to him.
Please accept my condolences and convey them also to Denardo's family. For our
good friend, I can say in this moment: "Requiescat in Pace!"
Sincerely,
Valentin I. Vlad
Institute of Atomic Physics
NILPRPLaser Department
P.O. Box MG36
R76 900 Bucharest
Romania
J'ai appris avec stupeur la disparition du Prof. Denardo. Il était pour moi un ami, un
frère et c'était un grand ami de l'Afrique. Je propose qu'on lui rende un hommage special
à ICTP pour son action en faveur du développement de la physique en Afrique et un peu
partout à travers le monde. Il était un vrai internationaliste au vrai sens du mot. Chaque
visiteur à ICTP qu'il soit Africain, Chinois, Vietnamien, Indien, Pakistanais, Latino
Americain, Européen, Américain, pensait qu'il était le meilleur ami de Denardo, tout cela
pour dire combien il était bon avec tout le monde. C'est une grande perte surtout pour
nous Africains et il serait difficile de trouver une autre personne comme lui à ICTP, qui
comprend vraiment les problemes du développement scientifique en Afrique.
Prions pour lui.
Ahmadou Wague
Department of Physics
Faculty of Science and Technology
University Cheikh Anta Diop
Dakar
Senegal
We were all shocked to hear about Professor Denardo's sudden passingaway. He
was highly estimated and will be missed a lot.
I informed Mr. Paulo Barretto, our former Director, about the sad news (you may
remember that they had a close working relationship and high esteem for each other).
With warm regards,
Susanne Walleczek
Office of the Deputy Director General
Department of Technical Cooperation
International Atomic Energy Agency
P.O. Box 100, A1400 Vienna, Austria
I am very sad to learn the terrible and unexpected news about Gallieno. He had
accepted to participate in the meeting of the C13 commission of IUPAP on 1st September
and I expected to meet him finally there, having worked a lot with him but always from
far. His international friends, in particular from Africa, will deeply miss his friendship
and support.
Best regards,
Annick SuzorWeiner
Université ParisSud
11 Bat. 210
91405Orsay
France
I am sad to receive this news. Gallieno was a tireless worker for science in the
developing world for which he will be remembered by all who had the good fortune to
know him and work with him. When he learned about SESAME he became immediately
involved and enthusiastic. He was a member of the first SESAME Training Committee,
formed at a meeting in Berlin on August 1921, 1999 and worked in many ways to create
opportunities for scientists from the Middle East to gain experience with synchrotron
radiation research.
Best regards,
Herman Winick
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
Division of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
SSRL/SLAC MS 69; bldg 137, room 316
2575 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park CA 940257015
USA
We received the sad news from Professor Lee Sing that Professor Gallieno Denardo
passed away suddenly on 23 July 2007. Professor Denardo had supported the AAAPT
since the 80s and we shared this deep sadness with our colleagues at ICTP and around the
world in loosing a great friend.
C.S.Wong
On behalf of AAAPT
C.S. Wong, FASc, MInstP, CPhys, FIPM, FMSA
President, Asian African Association for Plasma Training (AAAPT)
Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, Germany
Fellow, Academy of Sciences Malaysia
Plasma Research Laboratory, Physics Department,
University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I am real y shocked by this sad news. Please convey my deepest condolences to
Gallieno's family.
All the best,
Yu Lu
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Theoretical Physics
Interdisciplinary Center of Theoretical Studies
P.O. Box 2735
Zhong Guan Cun
Dong Lu, 55
100080 Beijing
People's Republic of China
With a great sadness I have received the news of the passing of Gallieno Denardo. I
have read the news in the ICTP home page and concur with the description of the very
valuable work of Gallieno in the ICTP in general and in the Optics and Laser activities in
particular.
As you may remember I have been serving as SPIE representative in the TSOSA
Committee during the last four years. I already have had relation with the Winter School
in ICTP from the nineties. I have always appreciated and recognized the very valuable
work of Gallieno and all of us also appreciated your very important support and
collaboration in promoting the Optics and Laser activities in ICTP.
I have just communicated the very sad news to Brian Culshaw, SPIE President and
Eugene Arthurs, SPIE Executive Director. All of us will miss Gallieno very much.
I express to you and all the ICTP members my very deep condolences.
My best regards.
Maria J. Yzuel
Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona
Departamento de Fisica
Grupo de Optica
Edificio Cc
08193 Bellaterra
Spain
Today I heard the sad news about my dearest friend Professor G. Denardo. He was
not only my friend but also my mentor. I met him for the first time in 1988. It is almost
20 years. I can't imagine ICTP without him. I am feeling very sad. I received his mail last
week. He was quite upset about the plaster on his foot. We discussed the programme of
the next winter school.
For all of us it is a great loss. Please convey my condolences to his family.
With my best regards,
Imrana Ashraf Zahid
Department of Physics
QuaidiAzam University
Islamabad
Pakistan
I am also very sorry to hear this message. I have known him Professor Denardo for
many years and seen him regularly during the General Conference. I will always
remember him as a real gentleman.
All the best,
Gerda Zeitlhuber
Office of the Deputy Director General
Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
IAEA
Yesterday I have received the grievous news about the sudden death of Professor
Gallieno Denardo.
Please, accept my condolences concerning this loss of your chief, associate and
friend. My reassurance to all his colleagues and, of course, his family.
Vitaly Zubialevich
Institute of Physics of NAS Belarus
F. Skaryna Ave.
P.O. Box 68
220072 Minsk
Belarus
ICO has lost a unique supporter: Prof. Gallieno Denardo
The international optics community is living hard times. Last July 24, I received
the very sad new of the great loss of Gallieno Denardo, which happened suddenly and
unexpectedly. Gallieno has left us in times when his presence would be more needed, as
he was the driving force of so many activities developed at the ICTP to enhance the
training of students and young researchers, in particular from developing regions of the
world. The International Commission for Optics (ICO), as an international organization
aimed to support the development of optics and photonics in the world, has lost a great
friend and a key person for the international projection of all these programs. I had the
enormous chance to work with Gallieno for the last six years and I was always impressed
by his tenacity, dedication, generosity and the great sense he had about how to orient and
focus the optics activities. It is indeed very hard to accept that Gallieno’s presence will be
absent from the ICTP rooms, and that we shall not be able to sit and talk with him on so
many aspects on the current activities. Gallieno was instrumental in establishing and
running all ICTP activities on optics, including laboratories, schools and workshops, and
the ICO/ICTP Award. As an additional program in their long standing cooperation, the
ICTP and ICO established in 1999 this Award in order to recognize a researcher less than
40 years old from a developing country.
As part of its program to support optics in less favored regions of the world, ICO
has been collaborating with ICTP in organizing Winter Colleges on Optics during the last
sixteen years. Gallieno Denardo, as the local organizer, was providing all the necessary
supports and arrangements for the successive College to be great successes, one after the
other. He has also been the local organizer of the eleventh edition of the Winter Colleges,
to be held on February 2008. He was even devoting part of his always busy schedule to
share with all the participants the meetings, seminars, and to organize wonderful music
evening happenings.
Gallieno, as the coordinator of the optics and laser programs at the ICTP, took
another very practical initiative, namely, the organization of the Trieste System Optical
Sciences and Applications (TSOSA) Advisory Group, established in 2003 with the aim of
advising the ICTP in the area of optics activities.
There is very little more to be added to our sadness. No doubt, a good tribute to
his memory will be to join forces, to complete his work and to continue with our related
activities.
At the forthcoming ICO Topical Meeting on Optics and Laser Applications in
Medicine and Environmental Monitoring for Sustainable Development to be held in
Accra (Ghana) next November 2007, a Special Session honoring Gallieno Denardo will
be organized with the aim to offer the most generous perspective and scope on Gallieno’s
contributions on the last decades to the expansion of optics and photonics. We would like
to invite all our colleagues to participate in one way or another in this homage.
Let us leave Gallieno’s memory to be a part of our motivations, in the forthcoming
years, in order to afford and warrant a better future for these young generations. Surely, he
would put all his enthusiasm on that.
Maria L. Calvo
ICO Secretary General
Professor of Optics
Head of the Department of Optics
Complutense University of Madrid
I knew Gallieno for almost 25 years and am proud to have had him as a friend as
well as collaborator. I have many fond memories of our interactions but there is one in
particular I would like to share.
In March 2007, Gallieno and I travelled to Paris for a meeting at UNESCO with
authorities from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to report on the Mori
Fellowship programme. The Mori fellows are funded by the Japanese Government though
UNESCO.
We flew to Paris the day before the meeting and had a couple of hours to spare
before dinner. Since we were staying in a hotel close to the Tour Eiffel (and Gallieno,
somewhat shamefacedly, confessed to me that despite his numerous trips to Paris, he had
only ever seen the symbol of Paris from a moving taxi) I suggested that we put on our
walking shoes. I have never been proud of my orienteering skills but it was obvious that I
had no choice but to act as a tourist guide for Gallieno and show him the sights. So, map
in hand, we set off. We ended up walking for more than four hours (without getting lost)
along the banks of the Seine and reaching Notre Dame and even further. During the walk,
we spoke of many things: his commitment to ICTP and its mission, his love of animals,
particularly stray ones (at one point he had of the order of 14 cats), his joy at learning new
languages, his gardening, his carpentry... It was so easy to talk to him.
When we sat down for a meal together, I ordered a glass of wine while Gallieno
chose only water. I will never forget the incredulous expression on Gallieno's face when
the waitress brought me not one glass, but a litre of red wine. I joked that I hadn't thought
my French was so bad—and remarked that since we had it we might as well drink up!
We didn't get to the bottom of the bottle (as Gallieno feared we might, or even worse that
I might) and what made us laugh even more was when we requested the bill and the
waitress produced a measuring tape and literally measured how much we had drunk—and
that's what we paid for. So, my French hadn't been that bad after all!
Gallieno was also an extremely kind and thoughtful person. Every Christmas and
Easter, without fail and for as long as I can remember, he would arrive at my office with
the traditional Italian cake—pandoro for Christmas and colomba for Easter—gestures
which will be sorely missed.
ICTP is not the same place without Gallieno and like many of us, I already miss
him but somehow I still hear his laughter echoing down the corridors.
Anne Gatti
ICTP
I am stunned and saddened by the sudden loss of my friend and colleague of
nearly 20 years, Professor Gallieno Denardo of the International Centre for Theoretical
Physics (ICTP), in Trieste, Italy. The significance of his loss is difficult to express in
words, but my fond memories of this distinguished humanitarian are easy to articulate.
I met Gallieno for the first time in 1988, when Professor Abdus Salam, the late
Nobel Laureate and Founding Director of ICTP, created the Edward Bouchet Abdus
Salam Institute (EBASI**). Gallieno was the primary facilitator for Prof. Salam and
three of the primary objectives of EBASI, which were [1] to provide a mechanism for
synergistic scientific and technical collaborations between African and AfricanAmerican
scientists; [2] to increase the technical manpower pool working in Africa today; and [3] to
facilitate the training of PhD students from African universities. As one of the founding
members of the American Council of EBASI, I started working with Gallieno at ICTP,
and found him to be one of the most gifted, visionary, and compassionate of individuals,
totally dedicated to disseminating excellent science to developing countries not only in
Africa, but also in Asia and Latin America as well. What seemed to many like an
insurmountable task was made agreeable and enjoyable, due mostly to Gallieno’s
congenial, affable nature; I found that his remarkable energy galvanized me, and
countless others, to this noble cause.
Already an internationally recognized center for theoretical physics, ICTP became
a mecca for scientists from developing countries to learn the latest advances in theoretical
physics from the top scientists in the world. Gallieno, with his background in elementary
particle physics, recognized early on that optics and photonics was an exceptional vehicle
to expand the scientific breadth of ICTP to a wider audience in the developing world. As
the Organizer of ICTP activities in Lasers and Optics since 1985, he simultaneously
served as Head of the ICTP Office of External Activities from 1989 through 1997. With
the passing of Prof. Salam in 1996, Gallieno became the principal spearhead to
implement Prof. Salam’s mandate that ICTP “… foster advanced studies and research,
especially in developing countries.” Even mandatory retirement did not sway his
enthusiasm and commitment, evinced by Gallieno’s activities as a Consultant to the ICTP
Office of External Activities since 1998.
During his tenure with ICTP, Gallieno organized over 50 scientific meetings and
training courses in the field of lasers, atomic and molecular physics since 1985. I
remember when Gallieno organized his first conference on optics and photonics in 1985,
which was entitled “Winter College on Lasers, Atomic and Molecular Physics,” 21
January – 22 March. The Directors of this college were, G. Amat, T. Arecchi, R. Bonifacio, A. Dymanus, F. P. Schäfer and O. Svelto – all internationally recognized
members of the optics community. These were extremely well organized workshops with
6080 students at or near the PhD from universities in developing countries from around
the world. The lectures were quite comprehensive, covering the basics to the latest
advances in optics and photonics. I recall Gallieno had “rock star” status among the
students, who revered him for his scientific prowess as well as his charismatic personality.
His attention to detail and concern for scientific excellence was nothing short of
extraordinary. For nearly two decades now, I’ve admired Gallieno because I have seen
how he impacted so many promising students and practicing scientists all over the world.
It was a pleasure to lecture in two of his early workshops, and subsequently to discuss
strategies for the center’s future.
I was OSA President when OSA signed an MOU with ICTP to support the Annual
Winter Colleges on Optics and Photonics at a level of $5000, and authorizing such was
one of the most satisfying tasks of my term. Given the size of the budget required to run
the colleges, this $5000 contribution is indeed quite small, but to Gallieno it was priceless
simply because it had the imprimatur of the OSA! When SPIE followed with a similar
MOU the following year, Gallieno was equally delighted. Many times, he and I discussed
the possibility of getting support/advice from the international optics, so in 2003 he
formed the Trieste System Optical Sciences and Applications (TSOSA) Advisory Group
to promote optical sciences in the developing world. TSOSA includes representatives
from SPIE, ICO, OSA, OWLS, EOS, UNESCO, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) and science programs across Europe. In addition to advising the center’s leaders
about programs for the annual winter college in optics, TSOSA offers a vehicle for
sharing center news with the global optics community. TSOSA gave Gallieno a
professional and international framework to continue his mission of offering assistance
and training to young researchers from the developing world. For his efforts, Gallieno
was the 2005 SPIE Educator Award recipient, a welldeserved award which recognized
his work in organizing optics and photonics schools, colleges, conferences, and
workshops for the past 20 years.
When he retired several years ago, we still managed to keep in touch because
Gallieno continued to give his time and attention to making science and engineering
education accessible to grateful students in developing countries around the world.
Personally, I have found Gallieno to be one of the warmest and most caring individuals
that I have ever met, and I will never forget our friendship. The ICTP outreach programs
have lost a tireless advocate, an esteemed mentor, and a benevolent leader in Prof.
Gallieno Denardo—I can’t imagine who could fill his very large shoes!
**EBASI was named in honor of Edward A. Bouchet, who became in 1876 (Yale
University) the first African American and the first known person of African descent to
earn the PhD degree in Physics.
Anthony M. Johnson, Director
Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR)
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA
2002 President of the Optical Society of America (OSA)
I first met Professor Gallieno Denardo when I was working at the International
Centre for High Technology (ICSUNIDO)—he would often visit the offices then located
on the top floor of the Adriatico Guesthouse in Grignano. This was in late 1989. I worked
closely with him on a number of scientific projects leading to the establishment of the
International Centre for Pure and Applied Chemistry in 1990 and organized together the
Centre's first conference on "Lasers in Chemistry" in June that year, hosted by ICTP. I
still have the volume of the proceedings published by the Indian Academy of Sciences
which I worked on closely with Professor Denardo and the organizing committee. I well
remember his enthusiasm for his work and especially lasers.
More recently, since 2000, I found myself once more on the ICTP premises
working for TWAS. I would often bump into Professor Denardo at the Enrico Fermi
building where he had his office. He always had time to stop and chat and enquire about
work—his infectious laugh resounded along the corridors and his permanent good
humour prevailed.
I will certainly miss him.
Joanna Lacey
InterAcademy Panel (IAP)
It is impossible to forget that spontaneous and full burst of laughter that every now
and then rolled down the hallway past my office door from somewhere in the area of the
Director’s office. Whatever serious business had been attended to was now punctuated by
Gallieno’s clear statement that the business of uplifting the human spirit need not be
conducted by grim faces. He wasn’t alone in this, for which I am thankful, but he perhaps
said it the loudest.
On many of these occasions, passing afterwards by my office door, Gallieno
would often stop to ask how things were going, his face slowly, but not fully recovering its
calmer demeanor. A simple “fine” often prompted the response “No, how are things
going REALLY, Joe?” That I will remember as much as his laughter: the warmth and
openness which he so often showed and his friendship. As a new staff member I was
particularly grateful that Gallieno was so willing to share his broad experience gained
over a lifetime at the Center, and to have had the opportunity to share in his insights. But
it wasn’t altogether onesided: during our visits Gallieno would rarely miss the
opportunity to extract my perception of how certain of his programs were going, or what
my thoughts were on how they could be made to work better. He always listened carefully
and actively to perceived problems, but even more memorable is the way his eyes would
light up when I would tell him of specific ways in which I thought things were working
particularly well.
It was clear that Gallieno real y loved the Center. He didn’t need to say thisit
was obvious when we talked about the nuts and bolts of the place. And while he could be
very critical of certain situations, he was never cynical. It seems that Gallieno’s sleeves
were nearly always rolled up, always working to improve things, never sitting back to
admire whatever successes had already been achieved. All this had a profound effect on
me, much more than a thousand motivational talks could have.
Gallieno was anything but a slick salesman, yet he easily sold the ideals of the
Center. He sold ICTP the easy way—because deep down I think he really believed in its
ability to fulfill its stated mission and his sense of optimism showed. Among all else, I
remember Gallieno as an incredibly gracious person. He did not appear, however,
interested in merely being polite…like when he would stop by my office, asking “How
are things going REALLY Joe?”
Joe Niemela
ICTP
Dear Professor Denardo,
It’s sad to come to know that you left us so suddenly, working until the end for our next
activity.
You were a focal point of meeting, you built from all the world a big family of us.
We are still confused, and it will take time to realize that we will not find you just around
the corner at ICTP, ready to listen, always finding the time for a quick practical solution,
in spite of hundreds of things to look at.
Sometimes many of us would have wished to have more of your time, more attention,
more advice, and more and more.
We never found the door closed, never.
We always had a concrete fast applied solution.
Will we realize?
Few words, really few about yourself, in years:
You could keep us together, as a community, working all the year, for some weeks for us,
as a scientific community, and at the end of every activity, with the feeling of being a
family too.
Through your silent and constant work in ICTP, and in ICTP spirit, we could have the
best available lectures in the world. We could grow and come back to our countries,
seeding the development of our people.
Sometimes we were a little bit "sad" feeling how difficult it can be and is to compete with
laboratories with so many facilities, and how much harder it is working in science with
the minimum, and often less than that.
You knew that...maybe you were a little bit sad too.
But you never stopped encouraging us to go on learning and improving step by step,
helping as much as possible to find chances to go on working, and giving us a feedback
for outputs, that we would have had to give you every year.
We would have had every year some very positive and well defined new result.
Will you see us from there?
We hope, we hope that you, while taking rest, will see some good results from us; it’s the
best satisfaction for an educator.
Some good results you already saw—it’s a collective success of our ICTP community.
Professor, farewell, we are spread around the world, but we will be there.
Professor, few words about you in years, and many years of continuous daily actions,
sometime for us to know you now.
No time to tell you, "we will miss you".
No time to realize...
Professor, thanks.
All Your ICTP Optics Community
Barbara Federica Scremin (Italy)
Zohra BenLakhdar (Tunisia)
Amadou Wague (Senegal)
Imrana Ashraf Zahid (Pakistan)
Paul Buah Bassuah (Ghana)
Danailov Miltcho (Bulgaria)
Lisanna Iannitti (ICTP)
Nadia van Buuren (ICTP)
Vanessa Varnier (International Centre for Science and Technology (ICS))
In writing about my friend Gallieno Denardo, I have had to resist the tendency to
write in the present tense, as if he was still with us—as if he would somehow show up in
my office and fill it with his boisterous, if somewhat nervous, laughter. Alas, that will
never happen now.
Monday the 23rd of July was Gallieno’s 72nd birthday. I sent him a brief egreeting
sometime that afternoon. He was homebound because of his accident for more than a
week already, and I didn’t expect an immediate response. I didn’t receive anything from
him the next morning, either. Around 10 AM of the 24th, I learnt that Gallieno was no
more! He had likely passed away just around the time I sent my email.
At first, I could not believe the news of Gallieno’s death because it seemed so
unlikely and untimely. I was hoping against hope that someone might show up to reassure
me that this terrible news was not true. But, alas, it was true and there was nothing to do
but stare into endless emptiness.
I had lunch with Gallieno just the previous Friday and bantered with him that he
probably missed ICTP more than ICTP missed him during his absence in the recent week
or so. When I drove him from Adriatico to the Main Building, Gallieno alighted with
some difficulty from the car and was slow to walk on his crutches; but he gave no
indication of anything more than modest discomfort. If it is true that gentle death without
suffering befalls only generous people, there was abundant proof in death, as in life, that
Gallieno was unreservedly generous to all. I know for a fact that he always thought in
terms of how he could be useful to others in need—never asking how his actions would
serve his strategic advantage.
When I came for my first formal visit to ICTP, still unsure if I would accept the
position of the ICTP Director, Gallieno was one of the people who tilted my decision in
favor. He convinced me that it would indeed be possible to set up an experimental
research program at ICTP (he took me to Elettra and the Optics Lab), and explained why
someone like me would be good for ICTP at that time. Later, Gallieno was like an older
brother to me giving guidance and advice when asked, rarely pushing a personal agenda,
never demanding things in return. He made me feel good about myself on occasion—
heaven knows that there are many reasons to feel otherwise—and provided as input his
immense experience when critical decisions had to be made.
Now that Gallieno is gone for good, I have to find people to take on all the
responsibilities that he shouldered so capably without pretense. No doubt that ICTP will
rise to the occasion and things will turn out fine at some level, but it will never be the
same without him. We will miss the wealth of information that resided in Gallieno’s mind
and the compassion and effectiveness with which he used it.
Recently ICTP celebrated "Africa Day" at the instance of the Africa Department of
the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several African scientists, young and old, spoke at
the meeting. For those who knew Gallieno’s involvement in Africa, it came as no surprise that the meeting turned out, unplanned, to celebrate Gallieno’s contributions to African
science. Nearly everyone acknowledged the warmth and personal involvement that he
evinced on ICTP’s projects in Africa. In his usual unassuming way, he brushed off this
honor simply by saying that people were exaggerating. Those who knew the details were
aware that the truth was different: Gallieno deserved everything that was said of him that
day. Gallieno did many things for ICTP but this is no place to attempt a list. I should,
however, mention three aspects: the Office of External Activities (OEA), his mentoring of
an important training activity on lasers and optics, and his special interest in Eastern
Europe. In all these instances, his vision was not grandiose but pragmatic and practical.
Gallieno built OEA over time and with patience, and cultivated deserving scientists all
over the world; he was keenly aware of their shortcomings and knew their little problems
and difficulties, but he also knew what measures would be appropriate to solve them.
Even though his own field of research was not optics, he saw its importance for a number
of areas of basic sciences, and, through the involvement of many interested people over
the world, created a great optics community around ICTP. For areas in which ICTP does
not have local expertise, as has been the case with lasers and optics, I believe this to be
the most effective way to forge ahead. Gallieno had very strong feelings for Central
European cultures, particularly Slavic (he spoke fluent Slovenian)—and he devoted much
energy to create strong links with ICTP. Naturally, he had many friends in that part of the
world. He was also very keen to nurture ICTP’s relationships with the IAEA, which he
considered vital and strategic.
I know that different people have their different ideas of what happens after death. I
must confess that I don’t know my own thinking well on this facet—let alone knowing
about those of others. However, if it is true that there is a soul that survives the collapse of
physical body, I have no doubt that Gallieno’s soul hovers over ICTP, taking pride in its
accomplishments and cheering us on to do better when it falls short of expectations; but
he would be neither jealous nor complaining. That thought lessens my sadness at the
knowledge of his death.
K.R. Sreenivasan
ICTP
I will save forever the memory of Professor Denardo's cheerful nature. We always
had a very positive working and human relationship.
In particular we had a sort of joke that started a long time ago. You might know that
my name in Italian but written "stanca" means "tired" and people often make jokes about
it. Professor Denardo sometimes also talked in Slovenian or Croatian to me as he was
very fluent in both languages, but especially in Slovenian. Once he asked me if I were
"trudna". I thought that the meaning of this word in both Slovenian and Croatian was the
same and since in Croatian it means "pregnant" I replied "Oh my God, I hope not". He
was very surprised by my reply and I noticed his astonishment. So I asked him why he
was suprised by my reply because I indeed hoped not to be pregnant. And then he started
to laugh loudly (as he used to do often) and I was suprised and asked him why he was
laughing. Then he explained that in Slovenian the word "trudna" means just "tired" and
that he only wanted to make the joke about my name and to ask if I was tired. Then of
course we both laughed about this slight misunderstanding and this remained a joke
between us: he often used to ask me "Are you trudnain Slovenian?"
Stanka Tanaskovic
ICTP
Back in 1977, when Abdus Salam and Paolo Budinich first lured me to ICTP and
the University of Trieste, my office on the Main Building second floor corridor appeared
to suffer a strange, though entirely not unpleasant disturbance. One day after the other,
someone down the corridor was breaking into periodic, unrestrained, loud bursts of
laughter.
Gallieno Denardo, then a young Theoretical Physics faculty and relativity expert,
turned out to be the unrepenting author of the laughing disturbance. As I was to discover
with time, he was indeed much more and much better than a jolly guy, and in fact just a
great human being. The laughter was but one manifestation of his love for life and for his
fellow men and women.
Theoretical physics is a fine job: but you cannot escape asking yourself sometimes
why you do it; and what good is it to others, especially to those in situations of difficulty
and need. Many of us came here to Trieste partly in response to that call. That must have
been a worry for Gallieno too. A giving person as he was, he evidently needed to do
more than just teach and research theoretical physics. So at some point in the early 80s he
joined the ICTP on a much stronger working basis. From that point onwards, Gallieno's
presence surfaced in literally every corner of ICTP's activity, wherever there was a need
to fulfill, or a problem to solve.
But the real impact of Gallieno's personality I experienced personally only in
relatively recent times. In 2002 circumstances demanded that I take up for a year or so the
acting directorship of ICTP. Willing though I was to be of help, I had clear knowledge of
my fatal lack of organization in administrative matters, and felt lost without backup (the
previous administrative director having just retired). It was Gallieno who moved in to help
me, and covered that unexpected role really wonderfully, with total and unselfish
dedication, from day 1 to day 365.
Gallieno's legacy is rich multifaceted: To work and give without conditions. He
taught us to set up ties with isolated scientists in Africa; with experimental facilities like
the Elettra Synchrotron, or his own Laser Laboratory; with IAEA in Vienna through the
STEP fellowships, his own invention; and countless other feats. Last but not least, he
taught us his strong friendly laughter as a hymn to life and to friendship. I wish to
remember my friend Gallieno that way.
Erio Tosatti
SISSA
Dear Professor Denardo,
It was so sudden and I'm starting to believe it's final. I am still expecting your head
to popin my office door, to see that honest smile and to hear your laughter down the
corridor. I will always cherish your memory.
I will miss a gentleman that could communicate both with diplomacy and
straightforward ways. I will miss your recognition for the smallest thing, your trust,
respect, comfort and support, your commitment, passion and values, your logic and
punctuality.
I miss you dearly.
Nadia van Buuren
ICTP
Gallieno Denardo, un ami de l’Afrique s’en est allé,
D’abord tout a commencé par un article que je voulais soumettre comme reprint à
ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) en août 1986. Alors on m’avait dit
que c’était le Prof. Gallieno Denardo qui était le répondant à ICTP pour tout ce qui
concerne les questions de physique atomique. Je peux dire que depuis ce jour, je venais
d’avoir la chance de rencontrer un homme formidable. Surtout ce jour là son rire éclatant
et sincère venait déjà de me frapper. C’est ainsi que depuis cette période, chaque année,
quand je revenais à Trieste pour les différentes activités du Centre et particulièrement
pour les Winter Colleges organisés par le Prof. Denardo, j’étais toujours très heureux de
le revoir et de travailler avec lui pour l’organisation des séminaires LAMP (Lasers Atomic
and Molecular Physics). Ces séminaires étaient des occasions privilégiées de
communiquer et de s'imprégner des travaux des participants au Winter Collège venant du
monde entier. Il nous est arrivé au début des années 90 d’organiser même des séances
nocturnes de projection video sur l’instrumentation laser et cela toujours avec
l’enthousiasme habituel du Prof. Denardo. C'était une ambiance particulière et
réconfortante que de travailler avec lui. Je me rappelle on avait l’habitude de se rencontrer
très tôt le matin dans son bureau, car il était toujours parmi les oiseaux du petit matin à
ICTP. Et c’était avec beaucoup de réconfort que je repartais de son bureau toujours avec
au moins une réponse positive aux innombrables problèmes très particuliers liés au
développement des sciences en Afrique. Durant les deux décennies où j’ai eu le privilège
de travailler avec lui, le Prof Denardo a permis à la communauté scientifique africaine
présente à ICTP de faire des bons qualitatifs particulièrement dans le domaine des
sciences optiques. On lui doit, au départ avec le soutien de Abdus Salam luimême, le
Directeur fondateur de ICTP, la création avec les scientifiques Africains du Réseau LAM
(African Laser Atomic, Molecular and Optical sciences Network) et de tous les centres
affiliés et autres réseaux que ce soit en mathématiques ou en physique, dans plusieurs
pays africains (Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, Sénégal, Ghana, Soudan, Cameroun, Maroc
Tunisie, Egypte, Afrique du Sud, Zimbabwe, Namibie, Botswana, Mozambique,
Zambie etc.). Grâce à lui beaucoup de chercheurs africains au départ très isolés sont
devenus des membres associés de ICTP et beaucoup d’autres ont bénéficié du
programme de bourse Sandwich Step qu’il a initié avec l’Agence International de
l’Energie Atomique ainsi que du programme de bourse avec ICS a Trieste ( International
centre for Science and High Technology). Tout juste au cours des trois dernières années le
Prof. Denardo se battait encore pour rendre opérationnel le TSOSA (Trieste System for
Optical Sciences and Applications), avec la création d’un programme de mentorship et
celle d’un groupe permanent en Optique à ICTP.
Le Prof. Denardo a été la bonne fée de l'Afrique à ICTP. Il a su susciter des
interactions utiles et fécondes entre les scientifiques africains et la communauté
scientifique internationale. C'est ainsi qu’avec son soutien, le LAM a pu organisé
plusieurs conférences, ateliers et écoles à caractère international sur les lasers et l’optique
à travers toute l'Afrique et c’est ainsi que le LAM est devenu une société internationale
membre de ICO avec un poste de vice présidence. De même par son intermédiaire,
plusieurs pays africains sont devenus membres ou observateurs à l’Union International de
Physique Pure et Appliquée (IUPAP). En plus il a su créer des liens entre les scientifiques
Africains et plusieurs sociétés Internationales d’Optique comme ICO, OSA, SPIE,
OWLS, IEE/LEOS. De même, il a été à l’origine des relations fécondes qui existent entre
le LAM et des chercheurs Africains avec l’Université de Lund en Suède, avec l’Institut
d’Optique de Paris en France, ainsi que des relations de coopération avec le Programme
International en Sciences Physiques de l’Université d’Uppsala en Suède avec l’appui
financier du SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency). Avec le Prof. Abdus
Salam, il a favorisé également, la création de liens de coopération scientifique entre la
Diaspora Africaine de l’Amérique et la communauté scientifique africaine de Physiciens
et de Mathématiciens par la création du "Edouart Bouchet Abdus Salam Institute
"(EBASI) .
Le Prof Denardo était un combattant infatigable,, et cela jusqu’au dernier souffle,
pour le développement des sciences optiques en Afrique, et c’était un ami toujours
présent pour susciter des opportunités de coopération scientifique. Chaque visiteur à
ICTP, qu’il soit Africain, Asiatique, Européen ou Américain, croyait qu’il était le
meilleur ami du Prof. Denardo. Cela montre combien il était ouvert à tous, et en vérité on
doit dire que le prof. Denardo était un internationaliste au vrai sens du mot. En fait à
ICTP, on peut dire qu’il incarnait véritablement l’idéal de Abdus Salam pour le partage
universel de la science.
Prof. Denardo, tu nous a quitté subitement, ce lundi 23 juillet 2007, mais pour
paraphraser le poète Sénégalais Birago Diop, en Afrique, nous savons que les morts ne
sont pas morts, qu’ils sont dans l’eau qui coule, qu’ils sont dans le vent qui souffle, qu’ils
sont dans l’enfant qui vient de naître. Mais toi Prof. Denardo, en plus, tu es dans la
lumière des lasers des laboratoires que nous avons crées ensemble en Afrique, tu es dans
les pages des livres, dans les mémoires et sur les écrans des ordinateurs que nous
consultons tous les jours, tu es dans les thèses et les articles que nous avons écrits avec
nos étudiants. Tu seras toujours avec nous dans les activités du LAM, de ICO, de UPAP
de OSA, de SPIE de OWLS etc. Dans les couloirs, les bureaux, les salles de cours et
conférences de ICTP, à chaque fois que nous y serons nous entendrons tes éclats de rire si
sincères et si amicaux.
Le 31 mai 2007 à Trieste, à la journée "Africa Day "dediée à l’Afrique par ICTP,
comme une prémonition, les Africains unanimes t’ont rendu un vibrant hommage Urbi
et Orbi. Aujourd’hui, Prof. Denardo, toi l’Officier de l’Ordre National du Lion du
Sénégal (la plus grande distinction honorifique de ce pays), toi le Docteur Honoris Causa de l'Université de Cape Coast au Ghana, l’Afrique reconnaissante du fond des savanes,
des déserts, et des forets par delà les frontières du temps et de l’espace, te dit merci. A ta
famille, à Dori, à Eleanor, à Georges, a Sreenivasan, nous exprimons toutes nos
condoléances émues et notre sympathie.
Maintenant, repose en paix cher ami.
Ahmadou Wague
Président du LAM Network et coordinateur du Centre Affilié de Dakar
