Simon van der Meer 1925-2011
On 4 March 2011, the Dutch physicist and Nobel Prize Winner Simon van der Meer passed away at the age of 85.
Simon van der Meer played an important role in modern particle physics. His contributions to accelerator science remain crucial to the functioning of current particle accelerators such as the LHC.
Van der Meer grew up in The Hague. He studied Technical Physics at the University of Technology in Delft. After a short period at Philips, he moved to CERN. This was in 1956, just two years after the lab was opened. Van der Meer worked there until his retirement in 1990.
In 1984 Van der Meer was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics together with Carlo Rubbia.