AN EXCELLENT SCIENTIST AND FRIEND!
* Photo from Y. Pavlenko family archive
On October 19th 2024 our dear colleague and friend Yakiv Pavlenko left this world at the University Hospital of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Up to the very last days of his life, Yakiv kept actively working, attending meetings and seminars, and providing insightful advice to all his collaborators, including members of the SUBSTELLAR ERC AdG Team.
For the last year and a half, he was holding a MSCA4Ukraine fellowship at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, supported by the European Union and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The war in Ukraine was devastating for his life, and he followed the events every day. Nevertheless, he preserved his good humor and managed to keep working and producing excellent science.
Prof. Pavlenko was not only an expert on cool atmospheres, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE), and chemical abundances, but also an extremely familiar person, who always had time to talk and provide guidance in a wide range of topics. He was also willing to explore new ideas with a positive and creative attitude. A lot of his work he left unfinished because he died too young, and his legacy will last for future generations.
Up to the last moments, everybody around him believed somehow he would solve the difficult equation of his sickness, but unfortunately it did not have any real solution.
Now Prof. Pavlenko rests in peace, and his memory lingers forever with those who had the privilege to know him.
This Websection in memoriam of Yakiv is a place to leave messages and pictures that represent the impact he had on our lives.
Prof Eduardo L. Martín Guerrero de Escalante
SUBSTELLAR Principal Investigator