While I didn’t know Sayan on a deeply personal level, we interacted a lot, especially when I first got to Duke as an assistant professor. He was an important mentor to me while I was in the early stages of my career and we collaborated on several projects and papers together. From these interactions, my impression of Sayan was that he was the sort of person who was in a perpetually good mood because of how smart he was. Like, he knew he could handle any challenge the world threw at him, and with that kind of security, who wouldn’t be jovial and jolly (when I think of Sayan, I think of him smiling and hear his laugh). Likewise, I imagined, being confident in himself afforded him space to be kind and generous with others. There were multiple occasions, on campus or at a coffee shop in Durham, where I would randomly overhear people–from undergrads to postdocs–gushing about Sayan. I will always remember and appreciate the help and opportunities he provided me as well as the genuine enthusiasm he expressed for some of my work and ideas, and the encouragement he gave me. During a time when I often felt out of my depth at Duke, his encouragement, reassurance, and just his attention made a world of difference. In an important way, it felt like, if Sayan was investing time in me, that must mean I was doing something right, and things would be alright. And I am sure he gave that same uniquely-Sayan gift–his attention and warm enthusiasm–with similarly meaningful impacts, to so many people.