Professor Peter Saraga OBE CBE FREng CPhys Hon.FInstP

We are sad to announce that Professor Peter Saraga, the inaugural Chair of the EKTG Board, passed away on 23 February 2023.

Peter had a long association with EKTG being present at its first meeting in 2010, and used his considerable leadership skills to shape not only the EKTG future agenda, but also that of the European AAL programme for which he was a former President of the AAL Association.

He was a Kentish man, born in 1942 in St Paul’s Cray. Peter attained an MA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, followed by an MPhil in Electrical Engineering awarded by Imperial College, London. From 1964 to 1992 he worked at Philips Research rising through the ranks to eventually become Director of Philips Research Laboratories UK from 1992 to 2002. He went on to hold numerous high-level non executive and advisory roles related to STEM outreach, higher education, and science-based policy.

Peter had a friendly personality that exuded warmth and humility. All who worked with him can testify to his insightful mentoring skills and excellent judgement. His enthusiasm coupled with an open-minded approach to solving problems ensured that his understanding of issues related to the improvement in quality of life of Europe’s ageing population were all encompassing. He pushed actively for a more inclusive society that championed the productive role that elders can make. We can only hope that we can carry on the work he so brilliantly started, into a future that he would be proud.

He will be missed sorely.

Ron Summers

Rafeal de Andrés

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