Today is the last day of employment for Associate Professor Marco Pinna at the University of Lincoln. In October, it would have been 20 years since Marco joined our Centre for Computational Physics (previously the Computational Physics Group) — first as a PhD student, then as a postdoc and research fellow, and from 2014 as a founding member of the Lincoln School of Mathematics and Physics.
During this time, Marco made a tremendous contribution to the development of Computational Physics of nanostructured soft matter on the international stage. In 2009, he was awarded the Institute of Physics Annual PhD Prize in Computational Physics — the first time this prize was awarded to a non-Russell Group university. He published widely with collaborators from the UK, Spain, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, China, and Israel. Marco also contributed to the development of Computational Physics nationally, as a long-standing member and later Chair of the UK Institute of Physics (IOP) Computational Physics Group.
His contribution to the development of higher education was also impressive. One of just three founding members, and the founding Physics Programme Leader, he helped build the Lincoln School of Mathematics and Physics from the ground up — something that hadn’t happened in the UK since the 1960s. That was truly a “mission impossible”, yet it became a remarkable success: high NSS scores, research publications with undergraduate students, super-efficient — even revolutionary — programmes. None of this would have been possible without him.
From tomorrow, Marco will be an Honorary Senior Fellow in Computational Physics at the University of Lincoln — but no longer an employee.
Usually, when people leave, one tries to put a positive spin on the news. However, there is nothing positive here — this is the result of financial pressure, a symptom of the severe illness afflicting UK higher education and the UK economy as a whole. Where UK HE will be tomorrow — nobody really knows.
But for now: thank you, Marco, very much!
Categories: Announcements, Updates
Centre for Computational Physics 
This is such a shame and great loss for the department. I have such fond memories of hours spent with Marco as both a lecturer and tutor.
I wish all the best Marco and the whole department for whatever is next
Marco was not only the best and most productively committed lecturer whose tuition I benefited from during my four years of physics at Lincoln, but he was also one of the most supportive and empathetic people I’ve encountered in general. That Lincoln is now impoverished of his presence is genuinely a loss; however, in this case, it seems that Lincoln’s loss is the world’s gain. Thank you for all you did for us, Marco; you’ve left a mark that won’t fade, and good luck!
Marco was the best and most clearly committed lecturer I had through my four years here, not to mention an extremely supportive and empathetic person