I had no idea how brilliant Sayan was when I met him during my first year as a grad student. All I knew was that he was a person who made academia seem like a brighter, funnier, and more interesting place….more like an intellectual playground than a stuffy institution of strict rules and hierarchies. He was irreverent (the first time I met him he was wearing a T-shirt that said ‘I like the Pope, the Pope smokes dope’) and cool (see: anarchy tattoo) while being enormously kind and unpretentious. May his memory be not only a blessing, but also a reminder for all of us to have fun with what we do and not take it all so seriously. I really liked Sayan and this is really sad.