The passing of Sir Peter Hirsch on September 12th 2025, marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in the story of metallurgy and materials science.
Professor Hirsch, who escaped Nazi Germany as a child through the Kindertransport, went on to redefine how we see the inner world of metals. His pioneering use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) unveiled the hidden lives of dislocations and defects after its theoretical prediction by Professor G.I. Taylor. Professor Hirsch’s work forever changed our understanding of plasticity, microstructure, and radiation damage. For generations of scientists, his name became synonymous with precision, insight, and the quiet beauty of crystalline order revealed by the electron beam.
At the Oxford University, where he built one of the world’s most influential centres for materials research, Professor Hirsch trained and inspired countless researchers who carried his ideas into every corner of our field. But beyond his monumental scientific achievements, what many of us will remember most is his kindness.
Early in my own career as an electron microscopist, I exchanged a few emails with him asking for so many guidances – brief notes of a student in desperation in post-brexit England. Professor Hirsch’s e-mails were always full of encouragement and generosity. He responded promptly, thoughtfully, and with the same humility that characterised his entire life. Those small gestures left a lasting impression; they reminded me that true greatness in science is measured not only in discoveries, but in how we lift others along the way.
Sir Peter Hirsch’s legacy endures in every diffraction pattern, every image, every attempt to peer deeper into the structure of matter. His vision continues to guide us, and his humanity continues to inspire us. The field of metallurgy – and all who have ever looked down an electron microscope – owe him more than words can express. Farewell to a remarkable scientist and to a deeply kind man. I have the personal honour to have Professor Peter Hirsch in my academic genealogy from the Los Alamos National Laboratory: a proud and gratitude I will preserve forever in my heart.
To Professor Peter Hirsch, on behalf of the [X-MAT] team, our deepest Glück Auf!
Rest in peace and thank you for everything. For a scientific world made brighter by mentors like you, deeply committed to the continuity of knowledge, and to nurturing it with respect, humility, and kindness the next generation of young scientists. Your example reminds us that true greatness in science lies not only in discovery, but in the generosity with which we share it.
PS: Below is what I considered the most important paper of metallurgy in the XX century where Prof. Hirsch et al. investigated the very existence of dislocation loops in pure aluminium! Access the full paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786435808237028 (Rights managed by Taylor & Francis)
I scanned from a printed copy of an original physical issue of the Philosophical Magazine from 1958 located at the Physics Institute at the University of São Paulo.
Materials at Extremes 