We Mourn and Remember Doctoral Student Davide Giri

December 06, 2021

On Thursday, December 2, the Columbia community lost one of its own. Davide Giri, a PhD student studying computer science at the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Amid this tremendous loss, hundreds of members of the Columbia community came together on Morningside campus on Friday, December 3, to remember and mourn Giri. 

University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis led the vigil in prayer, followed by remarks from SEAS Interim Dean Shih-Fu Chang and President Lee C. Bollinger. 

"Words seem inadequate; insufficient at a time like this," said Davis. "This tragedy is too, too deep for words; a time to speak, a time to keep silent, a time to gather together. We share the light, we share our lights; From candle to candle, flashlight to flashlight. Light is a symbol of our confidence that hope triumphs over sorrow."

Chang expressed our community's deepest condolences and also shared insight into Giri's work as a Columbia student: "Davide was advised by Professor Luca Carloni and worked on architectures and system-level design methodologies for heterogeneous system-on-chip, with particular focus on hardware accelerators. He won Columbia’s Andrew P. Kosoresow Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service in 2018."

On Sunday, Dec. 5,  The Cathedral of St. John the Divine held a service in memory of Giri. Over the weekend, Columbia also learned that Roberto Malaspina, the second victim in Thursday night's assault, had just arrived from his home in Italy to begin several months of independent research as a Visiting Scholar at the School of the Arts

You can find links to full remarks, a video of the vigil, and messages from the community at Columbia News.