"Real life" interferes with Neuroimaging News!

Subscribers,

Yet again, I am compelled to post an edition that is only tangentially related to Neuroimaging.

As described in my introduction, I did my graduate work in experimental condensed matter physics at 美国加州大学圣迭戈分校 with Robert Dynes , who had just fled Bell Labs in New Jersey to embrace the San Diego lifestyle.

While I was the first graduate student he hired (albeit not the first to start work), he brought in two postdocs to build the lab: Fred Sharifi, and Rich Barber . Both of these young experimentalists were crucial to setting up the infrastructure and the culture of the group in the early 90s.

While other postdocs ( Peng Xiong , Aviad Frydman, Fred Waugh) were important mentors, Rich held a special place, not only in the early years, but as Fred Sharifi recently wrote, "For over thirty years, Rich was the glue that held all of us together.".

Sadly, Rich, born in 1961, passed away earlier this week in Santa Clara, CA due to complications from a stem cell transplant to treat a difficult case of blood cancer. His wife, Letel, along with her cousin Allison, wrote a beautiful obituary that you can find here:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/mooresvilletribune/name/richard-barber-obituary?id=55440587

Unfortunately, my knowledge of neuroimaging and brain injury, while barely above that of the average lay person (I'm not a neurologist!), came in useful as I had a chance to review his EEG in his final days. Looking at abnormal EEG waveforms obviously takes on a new dimension when you know the patient, and I continue to marvel at my colleagues that practice medicine for their emotional fortitude.

I cannot possibly due justice to the legacy and impact that Rich leaves behind in a short article post. Like many that knew him, I am still processing the loss of an individual that, unlike many that pursue physics, had a very strong, pleasant, and nurturing personality, along with a bit of irreverence. (Let's just say that the names that Rich and Fred gave various equipment in the lab were ... not quite appropriate.)

Had I stayed in academia, I would have tried to emulate his path. Rather than work at a large research-focused institution, he chose to serve at Santa Clara University , where he could focus on teaching, both in the classroom, and in his laboratory with undergraduate students. While I did not share his passion for lead thin films and the superconducting-insulator transition, I always enjoyed hearing about his research. I appreciate his multiple attempts from 2008 through 2016 to have me consider a return to academia, primarily to teach.

Rich served as a mentor to many tens of students at Santa Clara, but also maintained strong professional and personal relationships with the other DynesLab postdocs, as well as my fellow "DynesLab 1.0" graduate students: Adrian (GUOping) Sun, Antonia Herzog , Tony Truscott , Andy Katz , Lynne Merchant , Jeff Ostrick, and Ramiro Contreras. He also mentored, to a lesser degree, Arthur LaPorta , Solomon Woods, Edward Price and Ofer Naaman , as well as other graduate students of Frances Hellman and Brian Maple. He was a crucial bridge to the key "transition" player of DynesLab 2.0: Shane Cybart , with whom he continued to collaborate as Shane found himself at UC Riverside.

I lament that I did not make the effort to see him more over the past decade. Thankfully, my wife and I were able to see him and Letel briefly in January 2024. I thought, for sure, that we would have more time, and a chance to see a Giants game.

I mourn the loss that Letel, their son Charlie, the Santa Clara University community, and all of us that knew him have to process. However, Rich made a positive impact to so many (and I'm not even covering his non-professional pursuits -- please -- read the obituary!) that he will live on in our memories and hearts for many decades to come.

Subscribers -- thanks again for indulging me and letting me use this platform to honor a colleague and a friend. I really do plan on returning to our scheduled programming (and catching up!) in the next edition. I'm off to Boston (mostly for fun, but hopeful to see some colleagues at The MGH/HST Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging ) for the July 4th holiday. For those in the United States, enjoy Independence Day!