Marek Piotr Grabowski

Marek Piotr Grabowski, 61, of Charlottesville, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Marek was born on March 26, 1960 in Łódź, Poland, the only son of Jacek Grabowski and Aleksandra Piwowarczyk. He had a passion for learning and solving problems, winning the Physics Olympiad in Lodz, Poland in 1978. He attended the Łódź University of Technology (1979-1984) and later obtained a Master's degree in Physics at the University of Łódź (1985-1987). After graduation, he came to the United States, continuing his education in Theoretical Particle Physics and String Theory (Department of Physics) at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia under Professor Chia Tze (1987-1992). After earning his doctoral degree, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Mathematical Physics Laboratory at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, under Dr. Pierre Mathieu (1993-1997). He then returned to Charlottesville, Virginia, his home, enjoying life as a stay-at-home dad taking care of his two daughters before he joined Professor Władek Minor's lab at the University of Virginia in 2001 to study protein structures. For Marek, family always came first. He spent a lot of time with his family - he loved hiking together in the Blue Ridge Mountains, camping, taking road trips to Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys and to the Grand Canyon, taking pictures (and uploading many to Google Maps as a Local Guide), visiting his parents in Poland, and helping his family (and cat) live a healthy and happy life. Marek's deep love for his family manifested in his photography. He captured each day on camera and kept extensive online "photo journals" recording the events of each year. He shared his albums with family members and friends. He was a wonderful man, brilliant scientist, and beloved husband, dad, and son. He loved languages (French, Spanish, and a splash of Chinese and German). Every moment he discovered new things to learn and cherish. Recent favorites included listening to podcasts about metabolism, making creative healthy salads, reading "Anna Karenina" in Russian, listening to French opera, and the compositions of Mozart and Tchaikovsky. He gave generously of himself to anyone who needed his help. He is survived by his loving wife of 34 years, Renata (Charlottesville, VA), his two daughters, Anita (Washington, DC) and Monika (Nashville, TN), and his parents Jacek and Aleksandra (Łódź, Poland). A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at 11am at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlottesville. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.