Professor Pierre Turq, of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, passed away after a long illness on May 20^th 2015 at the age of 71.

Pierre played a crucial role in the field of computer simulation of liquids. He was also extremely important for CECAM, in particular when it embarked on activities in the area of molecular simulation. Pierre was in his early thirties at the time and his decision to move towards simulations was courageous, because this was not yet considered a 'respectable' area of research in Theoretical Chemistry.

Over the years, Pierre has made crucial contributions to the theory and to the (multiscale) simulation of charged systems, such as molten salts, electrolyte solutions and colloidal suspensions, both in the bulk, at interfaces and under confinement.

He did pioneering works on Brownian Dynamics simulations. An important aspect of Pierre’s work is that he always kept experiments in mind: he explored how simulations could be used to assist in the interpretation of experiments probing the dynamics on different scales (QENS, PGSE-NMR, conductivity, radiotracers, …).

He was keenly aware of the societal implications of research and chose his research topics in areas of considerable relevance: an example is his work on the reprocessing of nuclear waste or their geological disposal.

He has had an enormous scientific impact through his publications, but his contributions transcend his own research: he built up a community. A large number of Pierre’s former PhD students (over 40 in total) and post-docs are now well- established scientists in Academia as well as in Industry-related public institutions.

Pierre was a wonderful person: always generous, warm and hospitable. His reputation in France was heightened immensely by the fact that he was an `Officier Commandeur du Tastevin’ and a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honeur. Together with his wife Laure, he was a fabulous host to his many guests, who often became his friends for life.

Our thoughts are with his wife Laure and their daughter Viviane. He will be sorely missed by his many friends, colleagues and former students and collaborators. CECAM has lost an irreplaceable friend.

TurqRecollections.pdf