Mourning for Pierre Pizzochero

It is with a heavy heart that we learn of the passing of our colleague and friend Pierre Pizzochero. His students will remember him especially for the two modules of his much appreciated and popular master’s course in “Nuclear and Relativistic Astrophysics”, but also for his good nature, passion, and enthusiasm for teaching.
Pierre joined the University of Milan (Insubria campus) in 1993, and since 2002 he had been an associate professor in the “Aldo Pontremoli” Department of Physics in Milan. He was a member of the INFN Milano Unit. He received his PhD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where, under the supervision of Gerald Brown and Nobel laureate Hans Bethe, he developed a strong interest in compact objects (neutron stars, white dwarfs and black holes), and the microphysical processes that determine their structure and evolution. It was just during his PhD with Bethe that Pierre devoted himself to the study of SN1987A, the famous 1987 supernova. Together with other coworkers in the United States, Pierre then studied the cooling of compact objects, before returning to Italy and moving on to problems in nuclear physics and superfluidity in dense matter with applications to the phenomenology of pulsars (magnetized and rotating neutron stars). 
In recent years, Pierre’s interest has been mainly in the phenomenology and theoretical modeling of the so-called “pulsar glitches”, instabilities observed in the rotational period of cold neutron stars. Sadly, due to the sudden death of his beloved husband Roland in 2019, Pierre spent the last four years fighting tenaciously against a deep sadness that prevented him from doing research as before. However, he continued to devote himself to his students and to keep up the quality of his course, even during the difficult period of online teaching due to the Covid emergency. A recent work of his (recently published) is a theoretical review of the problem of glitches, which will bear witness to his original and lucid views on this interesting phenomenon.
Pierre Pizzochero was also one of the founders of the European CompStar network, which today links most of the European scientists working on neutron star physics. The idea of creating a network was that of providing a common ground for researchers coming from very different fields of expertise. Indeed, the purpose of CompStar is to unite the three souls that underlie the physics of compact objects: High Energy Astrophysics, Nuclear and Subnuclear Physics, and General Relativity. He was co-chairman of CompStar (2008-2012) and from 2013 to 2018 he was vice-chairman of NewCompStar, a COST action aimed at exploring fundamental physics through compact objects. NewCompStar has been instrumental in consolidating the European network of astrophysicists and nuclear physicists and in organizing many specialized schools and workshops to train young researchers and PhD students. Since 2019 he has been part of the Core Group and Management Committee of PHAROS “The multi-messenger physics and astrophysics of neutron stars,” another COST action, this time dedicated to ‘multi-messenger astronomy of neutron stars. Many students, attracted by the beauty of his astrophysics course, were then able to continue their research, both in Italy and abroad, thanks to his supervision and the opportunities provided by being part of this European network.
But most importantly, Pierre was for many a role model of behavior and dedication guided by his love of physics. To the many students he trained, the fortunate colleagues with whom he collaborated, and all those who had the pleasure of interacting with him, Pierre taught a passion for physics, as well as the integrity of pursuing an idea just because of its beauty.