Hannes left Stuttgart for CERN in October 1973 to take up a post with the Computer Operations group, in the Data Handling division. He quickly settled into the task of computer operations, becoming a valued member of the team, demonstrating excellent skills in both technical knowledge and human relations. The latter was helped by his excellent command of both English and French, despite having had very little training in this particular domain. He was much appreciated by his colleagues for his calmness and approachability, and was popularly known as “Schwarzy”, a name which followed him throughout his entire CERN career.

Following the outsourcing of the computer operations service in 1991, he moved to the User Support Group, where he had already assisted with the Help Desk. He continued developing his computing skills such that he provided 2nd-level PC support, successfully deflecting many user queries from the PC Group. He helped establish the hardware support contract, and made considerable effort for PC documentation in the QA database.

He was adamant in decisions regarding his lifestyle and overcame his long-term fear of flying shortly after retirement with the aid of a course from an airline company. Hannes enjoyed travelling, mainly by car. He visited northern Scotland, Greece, Bulgaria and most other European countries. He arrived at CERN as a fully qualified football referee, much to the pleasure of the CERN Football Club, which profited from his availability. Before retirement he established a second home in Austria where he spent much time and to where he later moved.

Hannes will be sadly missed by all his friends and colleagues.

He leaves wife Christiane and daughter Nathalie, currently working in the ATLAS Secretariat.