Obituary: Peter Knijnenburg (1961–2007)

With Peter Knijnenburg's passing away earlier this year we lost a great scientist, colleague and friend. Peter made significant contributions in many areas and is probably best known for his work on iterative compilation where he showed creative insight many years before the subject became mainstream.

Peter was unusual in that he was highly versatile in his thinking and approach. This is probably best illustrated by his ability to move from physics to the ‘theory of theories’—category theory and then on to linear algebraic program frameworks, iterative compilation and SMT quality of service. He was a highly prolific researcher publishing many papers in his short academic life and working with over 90 different co-authors. He possessed exceptional analytical skills and was able to succinctly communicate his research contributions. He was generous with his time and ideas.

For many Peter Knijnenburg will be remembered for his warm hospitality when hosting the CPC workshop in Amsterdam 2003. Peter's passing is a great loss to the research community. He is sadly missed and will always be remembered with affection by his colleagues.