David Jacobi obituary

My friend David Jacobi, who has died aged 54, was a research scientist with a particular expertise in the disposal of radioactive waste and a keen general interest in the environment.

Born in London to Harry, a rabbi, and his wife, Rose (nee Solomon), a secretary and voluntary worker originally from India, David went to Claremont high school in Wembley before studying chemical engineering at Bath University. It was in the West Country that we first met in the early 1980s, when I was at nearby Bristol University. From time to time members of Bath's tiny Jewish Society used to come over to join our slightly larger society for study and social events. Years later I met him again at Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, where his sister, Margaret, was rabbi. After that our paths continued to cross.