A memorial service will be held on Saturday 1 April at 2pm at the Holy Trinity Church, Priory Row, Coventry. Staff and students are very welcome to attend.

We are extremely saddened by news of the death of Mark Rodger, Professor in Molecular Simulation in the Department of Chemistry since 1999.

Martin Wills, Head of the Department of Chemistry, said

It really is the saddest news, about a colleague and a friend I have known for most of the last two decades, and who was greatly respected and admired by all of our staff and students, and by the broader academic community. Our thoughts are with Alison, Rowena and Elisabeth, at this most difficult time."

Saul Jacka, Department of Statistics, said

Mark was such a gentle and charming man - a natural gentleman. Of course this is not to say he couldn't make a witty aside - and they were very funny when he did - but rather that, to me at least, he embodied a style of behaviour which respected everyone's humanity and worth. He leaves us a very hard example to follow and he will be sorely missed by many of us."

Alison has expressed how much she and her daughters have valued support from family and friends, and the best efforts of the UHCW staff, in an online forum for the colleagues, friends and students who knew Mark.

Mark died at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire on Thursday 23 March 2017 after a short illness. In his role at Warwick, Mark’s principal research interests were in molecular simulation, where he was active both in developing methods and applying them to important biological and industrial problems. He was Director of the Centre for Scientific Computing from 2010 to 2016, leading national initiatives in PhD student training and playing a key role in establishing a regional tier of research computing infrastructure. Mark made several very important contributions to the development of computational chemistry and in particular to simulating crystal nucleation and growth. He was a former chair of CCP5 (2004-2010), a national collaboration in computer simulation, and a mentor to several researchers who now hold academic positions throughout the UK.

Prior to joining Warwick, Mark had obtained both BSc and PhD degrees from the University of Sydney, completed a period of postdoctoral research at Cambridge, worked in the research labs of British Gas and had been an academic in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Reading.

If you knew Mark and are affected by this news, there is a range of University support available to you. The Wellbeing Support Services website gives more details about support available, or you can contact the team on 024 76 575570, ext. 75570.