It was with great sorrow that we learned of the painful loss of one of our community. Dr. Eyal Shimoni, from the Electron Microscopy Unit, passed away on Saturday, July 22, 2023, after a long battle with cancer.
Eyal was born in Jaffa. After getting his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from The Tel Aviv University and Ph.D. from The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich with Prof. Hans Moor and Dr. Martin Müller, he joined the group of Prof. Abraham Minsky at the Weizmann's Department of Organic Chemistry for his postdoctoral research. In 2001 he joined the EM unit as a Staff Scientist and in 2014 was promoted to the rank of Senior Staff Scientist. Eyal specialized in cryopreparation of aqueous samples for subsequent use in SEM or TEM. Eyal also served the community by volunteering in many educational activities in the Davidson Institute and as Secretary and later Chairperson of the Israel Society for Microscopy. Eyal also served the Staff Scientists community by serving on the Staff Scientists Council from 2015 to 2021.
Eyal will be remembered as a good friend who was always ready to support everyone he worked with. Above all else, his optimistic attitude will be most missed.
Here are two eulogies by two fellow staff scientists in the EM unit:
From Dr. Smadar Zaidman
איילצ'וק יקר שלנו
עולם המיקרוסקופיה מרכין היום ראש ונפרד ממך בצער עמוק ואינסופי.
עומדים אנו כאן המוני אנשים שהשפעת על חיים, לימדת, הדרכת, הנחת וכיוונת.
רבים מאיתנו חולקים איתך דרך ארוכה של עשרות שנים.
אין בעולם כולו אדם שפגשת ולא נשבה מיד בקסמך.
אתה שילוב נדיר ומיוחד של מדען וחוקר מהשורה הראשונה בעולם, יחד עם נפש טובה, עדינה, מכבדת ומכילה כל אחד באשר הוא.
את כולנו לימדת משהו, חידשת לנו משהו, ותמיד בחן ועדינות, בענווה וצניעות אין סופית, בלי טיפת אגו והתנשאות.
תמיד ידענו שאפשר לפנות אליך בכל שאלה קטנה כגדולה ותמיד ידעת להושיט יד,
לעזור ולסייע.
להורייך ומשפחתך, חשוב לנו שתשמעו מאיתנו, האנשים שעובדים עם אייל שלכם / שלנו עשרות שנים, על הבן המדהים והמהמם שגידלתם.
על האדם המופלא, הסבלני והצנוע כל כך.
אנחנו מורידים בפניכם את הכובע, ומודים על שהיה לנו הכבוד לעבוד במחיצתו ולחלוק עימו את אהבתו למדע לטבע ולמחקר.
העיניים הטובות שלך,
חיוכך החם,
והלב הענק שלך, ילוו את כולנו לתמיד.
תנוח בשלום על משכבך איש יקר.
Dr. Sharon Wolf
Dearest Michal, Noa, family and friends,
Our beloved Eyal is not here and we don’t know how to accept it. The Electron Microscopy Unit members are close, and Eyal has been probably the most important person to promote this closeness. He had wisdom and kindness, and deep knowledge not only of scientific subjects, but indeed on the subject of life. How to live it with joy, and how to share that joy.
For the members of the EM Unit, Eyal was family. He was there to support, to guide, and to inspire us to be better – to be kinder, more accepting of others, and to see the other perspective.
Eyal was a pioneer in the field of biological sample preparation, starting with his PhD studies in Switzerland. He and Michal enjoyed their time there, and he came back to Israel full of ideas and energy. We were lucky that he joined the EM Unit after he competed his postdoc, and so began a long journey of friendship and professional fulfillment.
Eyal was the Head of the Israel Society for Microscopy for many years and was internationally known and respected for his expertise. He brought honor and recognition to the Israeli microscopy community all around the world. His friends worldwide are mourning this loss.
For 24 years it was my privilege to see Eyal every day and engage in meaningful work together. We travelled the world together, did science together, and shared life. We talked not only about science, but about art and music, indeed about this amazing life, and shared our happiness and our sorrows.
When I retired as head of the unit, Eyal wrote a speech that brought me to tears. Here is a small part of what he wrote, and now I read it back to you, dear Eyal. This part is the truth about you, the relationship you had with all our EM unit family members.
“As colleagues, we reflect each other by giving feedback to each other. From my personal perspective I can say that you often reflected back to me potentials that I didn’t know exist or I didn’t trust enough –you encouraged me to go to meetings abroad, to accept invitations to give talks or coauthor papers or teach. I could trust your encouragement because I knew you are not just playing nice. By doing this you supported my growth and I know that other people here also benefited from your encouragement and wise support and guidance. “
Eyal, this is exactly what you did for us, your colleagues at the EM Unit.
Eyal, we love you and will always love you. All the EM Unit members, CRS department members, Weizmann friends, and Microscopy Society fellows who are here today, bring their love and memories, and will miss you forever.
יהי זכרך ברוך
