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First it was the bare feet. Then the rest of the figure showed up. It was Jurek, rapelling on a rope down a staricase to the ground floor of the Physics Department building. He was practicing for climbing in the Tatra mounatins. The top end of the rope was tied to the sculpture of Albert Einstein, which stood on the upper floor. The year was 1981, during the student strikes in Warsaw when students were camping in the building. He was rapelling barefoot not to leave marks on the wall. This is the image of him that I will remember. He loved the mountains, he loved theoretical physics, he was deeply sensitive. A true friend.
2019 Annual Meeting of the Chinese Physical Society, Division of Gravitation and Relativistic Astrophysics (GRA2019)
At the old offices of the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Penn State
September 2023 in Bangalore, India with Fernando Barbero and Jorge Pullin
Toledo, 2008 - Jurek as usual, detached from reality, mingled with the crowd of participants of the ceremony in Toledo
My beloved Jurek. The Steel Warrior. Tender, loving. Attentive. Always busy, always in a hurry to discover as much as possible. Hungry for knowledge. Hungry for discoveries. perfectionist. With a huge sense of humor, sharp wit, and unlimited imagination. Absent-minded and delightfully messy, always surprised the world can be so unfair. It happened many times Jurek took the wrong trains(even a plane) while traveling and run out in a hurry at the last minute, leaving half of his luggage. However, he always reached his destination. Jurek has many interests. He is passionate about human evolution, collected every report on the subject and created theories by himself. He had almost specialist knowledge about the funnel-beaker culture, could talk about the Vikings for hours. As written in your favorite book, Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita: "but what can be done, the one who loves must share the fate of the one he loves. You will understand what it means
Moma, New York - explaining loop graphs in Picasso's painting
Tianjin, China - physical exercises in the park with a chinese kid
Beijing 2011, the Great Wall- session with Chinese warriors and the attache of the Polish embassy
Jurek was always a helpful soul. He brought to Syracuse his son Pawel with an fashioned carriage from Poland, which we inherited. People stopped and said they have seen something like it only in westerns. But it was the best carriage. He tried to cook Polish dishes to his Korean neighbors without having any pots and pans. Last December we met and Jurek was showing me how to ride his large bicycle which was his main mode of transportation, rain or shine. I cannot stop riding it he said- "I got it as a gift from my students". We argued often and laughed even more. He will be dearly missed - and i hope his community will find some solace and unity in cherishing memory of him.
Jurek with friends and colleagues at the banquet of Loops'24 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Jurek in discussion with Viqar Husain on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2024
Jurek at a dinner with colleagues and friends in Warsaw in 1996
Jurek in discussions with colleagues and students at Beijing Normal University in 2016
Jurek together with the rest of the famous ALMMT gang (Abhay Ashtekar, Jurek Lewandowski, Don Marolf, Jose Mourao, Thomas Thiemann) around 1995
Jurek on ski adventures during Winter conferences in Zakopane (2011).
Jurek on ski adventures during Winter conferences in Zakopane (2011).
Jurek at dinner with Roger Penrose, Ted Newman and Carlo Rovelli.
A slide from an old talk of mine, celebrating the so-called KKL (Kaminski-Kisieowski-Lewandowski) spinfoam model.
Jurek was loved by younger researchers! He would sometimes appear on a talk's slides.
Jurek with Roger Penrose at a dinner during the Jurekfest, the conference organized for his 60th birthday.
Tux Workshop '24. Jurek being interviewed by Austrian television. The interview was on Loop Quantum Gravity, yet the location was on the slopes!
Wojciech Kamiński
Wojciech Kamiński
Fort Lauderdale (2023)
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