David Start was 56 years old when he passed away from a sudden heart attack on 14 August 1998. An undergraduate at Christ Church, he was awarded a first class honours degree by the University of Oxford in 1964. A very bright student, he was selected to remain in Oxford to study for a DPhil in nuclear physics which he gained in 1968. He then had a six-year university career. This included a quite successful collaboration with the Weizmann Institute on the physics of nuclear states. He much enjoyed the stimulation arising from this first encounter with an international collaboration. In 1974, he joined UKAEA and moved to Culham. He changed to plasma physics and controlled thermonuclear fusion research. He responded very well to the challenge of a new field and soon became in charge of running one of the main experiments at the time: the Levitron using a levitated superconducting wing. At the same time, he pioneered the theory of non-inductive current drive. It is impressive that David's papers on this subject stand now as classic publications that have stimulated other research on this subject which has become quite important today. He moved to JET as Group Leader of the RF Physics Group in 1986. I remember well the selection interview. He was easily the best candidate for the post among a very impressive field. He has fully confirmed the excellent initial impression and has been ever since a main contributor to the research programme and to the intellectual life of the organization. Carole, his wife, wrote to me that David found his work at JET very enjoyable and stimulating albeit, she said, rather challenging. He was certainly a very active man contributing to many activities simultaneously. It would be very time-consuming to mention all the results obtained by David. David published hundreds of articles and reports. He was invited to give many lectures at international conferences. It is perhaps sufficient to mention three broad domains and give an illustration for each one. He made major advances in the physics of heating using radio-frequency waves (RF heating). He was a wonderful tutor for both his students and staff. He was a splendid team member always willing to provide services for the community and responding to challenging situations with a great sense of humour. On the physics of RF heating, he predicted that fusion power could be generated efficiently using ICRF at the deuterium minority resonance in conditions that he defined precisely. Very few would have bet much on this. Had he considered all mitigating aspects? The tritium experiments performed in JET less than a year ago gave a splendid confirmation of his prediction. In addition, David set a new world record that is likely to stand for many years to come. He was very pleased with this result and, over the last year, we saw a very confident David who was optimistic and in full control of his art. Many of us would drop by his office for a chat. This could be an experience. Entering his office, you had to make a sharp turn to avoid a large pillar of reports and conference proceedings; you could not see the desk but you could discover two shiny eyes radiating joy behind two columns of computer listings and a pile of mail. If you were to enquire about his filing system, he would reply that he merely applied the second law of thermodynamics and would continue in the same breath, `Eh! Jean do you know what ... ?' A wonderful discussion would then follow on his recent research. On his relationship with his colleagues and students, we have received many letters celebrating his abilities as a tutor and as a collaborator. I will extract just one letter originating from a young scientist who is now an Associate Professor at MIT. `It is a big shock to hear about David's sudden death. I will always remember David. He was one of the nicest persons I have ever met. I had the great chance of working with him directly. For me as well as for a number of other young people at JET, David has been a wonderful supervisor and teacher. He managed to combine a deep and extremely clear scientific vision with ultimate scientific honesty. His exceptional intellectual capabilities were always expressed in a modest way, especially in front of students or younger scientists, and never without demonstrating an exceptional human openness and a great sense of humour. All around, David will always represent for me an example to emulate.' Ambrogio F Fasoli Similar views are expressed in the abundant mail received from overseas colleagues and are shared by all here in JET and Culham. I have kept for the last point David's sense of humour. It is celebrated by all. It always came at the most unexpected moment and would invariably bring a magic touch generating warmth and friendship. Here is an example from my personal memories: `He had once invited me to go on his racing sailing boat, a passion until his very last day. He had a very fast one, reacting to the slightest change of wind. I recall that I could manage to last perhaps one minute at full extent on the trapeze but, at the next change of wind, I was too slow to react and down we went in the water. As I was slowly emerging from under the main sail all tangled up with ropes, I noticed a relaxed David comfortably resting on the mast. With a twinkle in his eye, he said `Perhaps, we could have now a discussion on my pay rise!' ' The 14th of August was a very, very sad day for his wife Carole and his son Michael, but also for all those who knew David. We have lost a scientist with remarkable intellectual agility. More importantly, we have lost a caring friend. We will never forget his merry shiny eyes. This is an immense loss that we share with his family. He has left behind many accomplishments that we will use for a long time. But above all, he has left an example to follow. The example of a man with remarkable abilities who remained modest and profoundly human. Jean Jacquinot JET Culham 25 August 1998