[robocup-worldwide] Gerhard Kraetzschmar

[Peter Stone]

Dear RoboCup Community,

I am deeply saddened to report that Prof. Gerhard Kraetzschmar passed
away last night.  He had been battling health issues, but seemed to be
on the road to recovery.  Reports from his family are that his condition
took an unexpected turn for the worse over the weekend and he passed
away peacefully after a rapid decline.

Gerhard was a regular participant in RoboCup since the very early years
of our organization.  He was a trustee of the RoboCup Federation
starting in 2005, and served as Vice President from 2009 until 2016.  In
2016, he served as General Chair of RoboCup in Leipzig, Germany.  His
contributions to RoboCup over the years were substantial and numerous.

Gerhard was a dear friend to many of us in our community.  I will
personally remember him as always smiling and full of energy - a
presence in the room.  He leaves us all with very fond memories and a
strong legacy of contributions to AI, robotics, and RoboCup that will
continue to live on.

His funeral will take place next Tuesday, July 30, at 1 pm in Ulm.

Sincerely,

	Peter Stone
	RoboCup Federation President


PS  Thanks to RoboCup Brasil for posting their moving tribute to him
here: https://www.facebook.com/robocupbrasil/