i've been meaning to write about this, but obituary is never an easy thing for me to do.
i can't say i know Satohiro Tajima well, but from the few times we interacted, he left a lasting impression.
the first time must be when he was on stage giving his James Prize lecture. as i've written elsewhere, it's an amazing introduction to some rather technical work. he made it so simple and clear.
as i mentioned in this blog before, i used to be the nasty guy who only ask nasty questions. this mostly stopped these days, but at ASSC i often let loose and don't keep this in check. i feel ASSC is the place where interesting debates happens. so near the end i asked him a question about the data and how it fits with IIT, and surprisingly he was strangely so non-defensive. i thought he's from the 'dark side' but apparently such juvenile thing as taking sides was beneath him. his gentle openness was well beyond his years
i only found out in the past few days that he was to start his first faculty position as a colleague in the same UC system i'm in (he was to join Davis).
in this field, theories are cheap - in the economic sense that supply vastly exceeds demand. people are all that matter. this loss is devastating.
RIP, Tajima-san.
i can't say i know Satohiro Tajima well, but from the few times we interacted, he left a lasting impression.
the first time must be when he was on stage giving his James Prize lecture. as i've written elsewhere, it's an amazing introduction to some rather technical work. he made it so simple and clear.
as i mentioned in this blog before, i used to be the nasty guy who only ask nasty questions. this mostly stopped these days, but at ASSC i often let loose and don't keep this in check. i feel ASSC is the place where interesting debates happens. so near the end i asked him a question about the data and how it fits with IIT, and surprisingly he was strangely so non-defensive. i thought he's from the 'dark side' but apparently such juvenile thing as taking sides was beneath him. his gentle openness was well beyond his years
i only found out in the past few days that he was to start his first faculty position as a colleague in the same UC system i'm in (he was to join Davis).
in this field, theories are cheap - in the economic sense that supply vastly exceeds demand. people are all that matter. this loss is devastating.
RIP, Tajima-san.