As I start writing this, I get a remembrance of Josh
editing some papers with me. We worked on a couple of publications and his
revisions were always so elegantly crafted. He was a very good scientific
writer. Of course, this was just a manifestation of his special mental capacity
for parsing out problems, details, and information in scientifically meaningful
ways. Clearly he possessed special talents that benefited his work and career.
I walked into Josh’s 7th floor lab in 1979. He gave me my
first job out of college. He had just secured a large research grant and I was
one of his first research assistants. It quickly became evident that one
doesn’t work for Josh, one works with Josh. He had an irresistibly
collaborative nature and treated almost everyone as a colleague. This brought
many researchers into the Lab from all over the world for either casual visits
or special projects.
The Lab that Josh nurtured brought to life many of the
things he believed in: fairness, excellence, devotion, community, and joy.
Actually, he also made it a full life for many of us.
What a fun place it was, and sometimes 24/7. The place was always active with
several lines of oculomotor and accommodation research, grad students, and
visitors. Often we would congregate around the table and make exotic lunches or
dinners with delicacies that Josh brought from some gourmet shop he happened to
have been passing by. (If not that, then we would wind up at some off the
beaten path restaurant, or at his Brewster place.) I can
still see him entering the Lab in the morning - plop goes the briefcase full of
articles, a quickly brewed a pot of Bustelo coffee, then straight to briefing
us on his latest experiment ideas.
Josh, I think, never liked parting with people. After six
years at the Lab, I sought opportunities in industry. Research work is never
really done, and I think I let him down. I don’t know if he ever forgave me,
but we would catch up every now and then and he was, as usual, very warm and
receptive. Truth is, Josh was a very significant part of my life. I always hope
that some of the skill and acumen that he shared with me has stayed with me. To
this day, he remains the most intelligent and interesting individual I have had
the pleasure to work with. Goodbye Josh and thank you.
Jose Velez
Boston, MA
March 29, 2012
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