From Fritz Meissner

Thanks all for the opportunity to grieve in community like this. 

In 2010 when I started my M.Sc. in the UCT Computer Science department, I told my supervisor I wanted to sit in the "ICT4D lab". It worked because I was a match by research area, but what I didn't realise at the time was that I was the only student there who was not supervised by Gary Marsden. Still, I was welcomed in weekly meetings, at which I was given the same space to talk and hear his advice for my research as any of his own students. 

He put effort into many things that would create a good atmosphere for all of us, including buying furniture and having us over to his home for a meal to mark the end of a term. In 2011 his tireless efforts at networking and fund raising resulted in the group getting an attractive work space in the computer science building. I was proud to be there. Any time a friend visited the University, I made the lab a part of the tour. In spare moments Gary joined us there, drinking coffee and making conversation which was always worth taking my headphones off to hear, even if I wasn't actually part of it.

One of the biggest benefits of being part of this group has been the endless stream of friends and contacts to whom Gary introduced us, including some very senior people in the field. When I meet them later, they remember me as one of Gary's students, even though I wasn't introduced as such. I think I understand why: it was unusual for someone in his position to pay attention to and promote students whom he didn't supervise, because there are significant incentives for academics to only invest time and energy only where it is most necessary and where return is most likely. It wasn't just me, either. As the group grew, more students joined from other supervisors, some of them not even from the same department. We all experienced his encouragement, infectious enthusiasm, and generosity.

In my (short) research career, January was always a great month because of the quiet in the lab, conducive to good concentration, but also -- more selfishly --  because Gary would split his attention between the few students who were present at the start of the working year. This meant more great conversation, and getting the scoop on his exciting plans for the new year. 

In 2014, January will be different. It holds sadness at amusement and wisdom lost, at plans that could have been, but won't. It would be unhealthy to deny that sadness, but in the midst of it I'm determined to hold on to the example he set, and hopefully one day emulate: to welcome the outsider who doesn't quite fit; to find meaning in blessing others; and to always go the extra mile, even when there is no obvious reward ahead.

Fritz