AN ‘outstanding’ professor from the University of Reading has been killed while working in America.
Prof Alexei Likhtman, 44, who taught in the Mathematics department at the university, died while trekking on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland when he fell between 45 and 50 feet from a rock earlier this month.
Prof Likhtman was on a work trip and was trying to take a photograph at Annapolis Rock when he fell at around 10.30am local time on Sunday, October 11.
Prof Likhtman had worked at the university for eight years after joining from the University of Leeds in May 2007.
Professor Likhtman’s family said in a statement: “Alexei was the best husband, father, son and friend anyone could have wished for. He was a kind, tender, caring, loyal and reliable person. He was generous, supportive and wise in every life situation.
“His intelligence, ambition and passion accompanied him in everything he did. His talents stretched across many hobbies and interests including skiing, hiking, badminton, woodwork and photography.
“We were all hugely proud of his achievements as a scientist, but will remember him most as a deeply loving and happy person who lived life to the full. Words cannot fully describe our devastation at his sudden loss.”
Sir David Bell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “I was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of Professor Alexei Likhtman. The University of Reading community has been deeply affected by this tragic news.
“He was an outstanding leader, academic and friend. My thoughts are with all his family and friends at this difficult time.”
Dr Stephen Langdon, head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, said: “Alexei Likhtman was a rare academic. He was, without doubt, one of the leading theoretical physicists of his generation.
“He was an intellectual powerhouse, with academic gravitas way beyond his 44 years, yet utterly approachable, modest and always friendly in a natural way that charmed anybody who met him.
“Alexei was so much more than an academic and an intellectual. He was a great friend, a funny, spirited, yet always serious person, and our department will not be the same without his daily passionate presence, his enthusiasm for science, his warm friendship.
“Colleagues have said Alexei had ‘a wonderful character combining modern efficiency with the honest spirit of former times’; described him as a ‘wonderful person and a great scientist’ and as a ‘good friend of the whole group’.
“We still cannot grasp what has happened. His loss has left a gaping hole in our department, and in the heart of all his colleagues, and he will be sorely missed.”
