10 Questions with Pierre Darriulat

1) When did you work at CERN (including its Scientific Collaborations) and what did you work on? 
"1965-1998, or something like it, on particle physics."

2) What is your best memory of working at CERN? 
"As a one-time memory, rolling-in UA2 from garage to tunnel. But in general, the good fortune of having met and worked together with so many excellent people from around the world."

3) What is your current job and where is it located? 
"Astrophysicist in Vietnam."

4) What skills did you develop during your CERN work experience which have been particularly useful in your subsequent career trajectory? 
"Hard work."

5) Which skills (if any) did you need to develop further when you left CERN to face your next professional challenges?
"Tolerance, patience."

6) What tips would you give to someone who is considering a career transition from academia to industry? 
"Stay true to scientific ethics."

7) What advice would you give your younger self? 
"Just relax."

8) Do you still keep a close eye on what’s going on at CERN? 
"Yes."

9) In your opinion, what is the unique value of the CERN Alumni Network? 
"Friends."

10) Imagine you are stranded on a desert island. You can have one piece of music, one book and one luxury item. Which music, book and luxury item would you choose and why?
"A song - may be Brassens or Leo Ferre or Jacques Brel or Barbara or Joan Baez;
An anthology of French poetry (as big as possible, I wrote one myself which would do the job perfectly;
Maybe a microscope (25 years earlier, I would have said my pipe, but it gave me cancer...)"

The CERN Alumni Office was honoured to welcome Pierre during our First Collisions event back in 2018, where he gave a moving lecture about his time at CERN, where among other things he was spokesperson of the UA2 experiment and Director of Research. 

Get to know his story in more details by reading his testimony and revisiting his talk.