Like many others here, I was, and am, a huge fan of Gary Marsden, and I enjoyed every minute I spent with him. I met Gary when he gave a talk at Cambridge in 2005 or so, and was blown away: his story about how there was one PC for every 238 people in South Africa but they had 75% cellphone coverage - and why this meant that the focus in HCI really needed to be on mobile - is something I've quoted again and again. I know my own involvement in research in Haiti and Kenya was directly influenced by his thoughts and approaches, and I'm far from the only one.
I think perhaps Gary's greatest gift was his ability to make you feel that you, too, could make a contribution and make the world a better place through your work. Gary enabled people to participate, to feel like they were part of the solution. That's a remarkably inspiring message, and one that a lot of academics miss. He asked me to be on two different thesis committees, something I was happy to do, and I learned a lot from each opportunity, and, I hope, helped out some very smart students too. At the same time, he had that magic trick of making you feel like you were really smart when you talked to him: you left feeling "Hey! Gary thinks I'm awesome! I must be pretty awesome, then!". It's something I try, hard and often unsuccessfully, to emulate.
I miss Gary. For the first few months after his death I kept thinking I'd seen him walking by, but it never was. I think of him every time I walk into a hotel with a particularly notable carpet. I'll miss running into him when passing through Heathrow. I'll miss him.
No comments:
Post a Comment