We are saddened to learn that experimental physicist Giuseppe Fidecaro, who joined CERN in 1956, passed away on 28 March. He was 97 years old. Giuseppe was a familiar face to the CERN community, often seen arm in arm with his wife Maria as the pair made their way through the CERN corridors. He was also known to CERN visitors, featuring prominently in the film shown in the Synchrocyclotron exhibition. Maria Fidecaro passed away in September 2023.    

Born in Messina, Italy, in 1926, Giuseppe studied physics at the University of Rome under the supervision of Edoardo Amaldi , graduating in 1947. He came to CERN with Maria in the summer of 1956 and was assigned to the Synchrocyclotron. There, he established a group and prepared equipment for experiments which, in 1958, enabled the successful search for pions decaying into an electron and a neutrino – a process that helped to support the existence of the universal Fermi interaction.

In 1975, Giuseppe was appointed as co-chair of a joint scientific committee set up under a collaboration agreement between CERN and the former USSR concerning the use of atomic energy, a responsibility he held until 1986. He was also tasked with coordinating cooperation with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna.

Giuseppe officially retired in 1991 but, together with Maria, continued his work at CERN as an honorary member of the personnel until as recently as 2020.

A funeral service was held at the Italian Catholic Mission of Geneva at 10.00 a.m. on Friday, 5 April.

A full obituary will appear in the CERN Courier.