It is with sadness that we announce the passing away of Dr Pierre Morel. Pierre, as well as a distinguished scientist in his own right, was the first Director of WCRP as well as a founding member of WCRP's GEWEX Core Project.
"I met Pierre for the first time in 1965 when he was examiner at École Normale Supérieure and I passed the (tough) oral entrance exam." said a friend and colleague, Dr Gilles Sommeria, "I wanted to become an astronomer but he convinced me a few years later to get into the new developing field of dynamic meteorology and I owe most of my early scientific career to his vision and guidance... I feel his passing away as a void, on a personal level and for science, particularly for climate science."
Valery Detemmerman, who was hired by Pierre in 1987 to join the WCRP Secretariat commented
"I have many memories of Pierre, perhaps the most vivid is pacing around my office expounding on some new scientific idea...I also remember his impressive command of the English language, which was better than that of most native speakers!"
We would like to express condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
Photo: ENS PSL