Oreste Pilla died suddenly on 11 December 2003, in Fortaleza, Brazil, where he was spending a working period with a research team at the Universidade Federal do Cearà.
I moved to Trento in 1977. Oreste was the first student to prepare his Laurea thesis with our group, working on the Jahn–Teller effect. Since then, our collaboration has continued steadily for more than 25 years. The Jahn–Teller effect was the main research topic for some years, including the first period that Oreste spent abroad, at the University of Geneva. The interest of the group gradually shifted towards the vibrational and relaxational dynamics of disordered solids, which have constituted the main research activity for the last ten years or so.
Oreste contributed to this activity experimentally (both here in Trento and at the Institut Laue-Langevin and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble), and with computer simulations. Within this framework, Oreste started and developed the collaboration with the Brazilian groups of the universities of Campinas and Fortaleza, which resulted in numerous and fruitful exchanges of researchers and students. Oreste's interest in Brazil was not limited to scientific collaboration, but was also directed towards establishing a social initiative in the field of education. We hope that such initiative may proceed, though we are aware that we will miss his enthusiasm and propelling energy. Personally, apart from the continuous exchange of scientific ideas, I will miss our chats in front of a glass of wine or beer, enjoying Oreste's sharp and disrespectful wit.
G. Viliani, Trento, March 2004