It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing away of our dear colleague and friend, Abdulmonem Obaied, at the age of 38. He leaves behind his wife, Sarah, and their son, Omar, born in July 2024. Abdulmonem was laid to rest on March 19 in Lille, France.
He was a brilliant scientist, a valued member of our team, and a warm-hearted person whose passion for his work and dedication to his colleagues left a lasting impact. Despite his many achievements and publishing his work in top journals, he remained humble about his success. He was a kind and generous person, always putting others first. Abdulmonem was deeply loved by his family and friends. He was a devoted father and husband, often working from home to care for his baby; a devoted brother and son who cared deeply for his family, despite the distances that separated them.
Abdulmonem was an expert in computational materials science and machine learning. His journey with GTT-Technologies began 2019 as a Research Associate before he pursued his PhD at Ruhr University Bochum. His thesis, “Developing state-of-the-art materials informatics methods for Calphad modeling of multicomponent materials”, laid the foundation for his deep expertise in materials informatics. After completing his PhD in 2022 as one of the first graduates of the Max Planck SURMAT (now SUSMET) program, Abdulmonem joined Forschungszentrum Jülich as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2024, he returned to GTT-Technologies as a database developer and researcher, where he quickly became an integral part of our team.
Abdulmonem often joked about his “lack of first impression skills”, but those who got to know him quickly appreciated his generosity and insight. He was open about the challenges of neurodivergence and gave thoughtful advice to colleagues who were dealing with similar quirks in themselves or their own children, such as unique food preferences. He found humor in his own journey, which had led him to become an avid baker with his own YouTube cooking channel, and to bring French flavor to our office by delivering pastries and snacks from France.
Once past the first impression, Abdulmonem’s generosity and kindness were unmistakable. He was an incredibly thoughtful listener and never hesitated to help, whether explaining a complex machine learning concept or offering to drive colleagues to and from the train station, even when driving was still new (and sometimes stressful) for him.
Having left Syria under difficult circumstances and facing many obstacles along the way, including the hardship of being separated from his family, Abdulmonem ultimately built a life in Germany. He understood the challenges of being far from home and made international colleagues in Aachen feel welcome and less alone. Despite everything he endured, he remained a kind, humble, and encouraging person, always offering his support to those around him with generosity, respect, and a great sense of humor.
His favorite chemical element was helium, and the Fe-C phase diagram was both his favorite and the one he hated the most. He was a scientist who had the talent to go really deep into the problem and found the core of the issue, solving it with his expertise. Whether the subject was science, philosophy, politics, theology, art, or literature, Abdulmonem was known for his intellectual curiosity and his love of deep discussion. He even applied his linguistic skills by working as a translator, bringing classic novels from English into Arabic. We admired him for his rational and thoughtful approach to even the most controversial topics, always striving to understand different perspectives.
Beyond his impressive professional accomplishments, Abdulmonem will be remembered for his genuine kindness, his tireless willingness to help, and his openness to sharing his knowledge. He was always helpful and supportive of others, open to feedback, eager to learn and explore new things, and deeply motivated in everything he pursued.
Our thoughts are with his family at this incredibly difficult time.
He will be deeply missed.
