The last time I saw Sam was during his stay at the Newton Institute in Cambridge in the summer of 2008. It was one of those rare warm, still, green, beautiful English afternoons and I felt the urge to go jogging. Sam's office door was always open so I decided to see if I could winkle him out of it. It didn't take much to convince him. With his usual bouncy enthusiasm, he agreed to come along, even though he didn't have the correct jogging shoes. The run out to Granchester was glorious, both of us enjoying the weather and environment and getting a break from work. That evening we went to the The Eagle, Sam talking excitedly about science and bubbling with his customary enthusiasm. I swear he drank a pint of bitter (!)--maybe he did it to join in, to be a part of things.
Sam always made you feel good about yourself and his positive attitude was infectious. Talking about science with Sam was great fun and I felt privileged to spend time with him. When he was on stage, he held an audience like a world-class stand up comedian, never more than a sentence away from a laugh or a brilliant insight.
Sam was a force for good and had a significant impact on our community through his dynamism, charm, generosity, humour and ideas. He saw the best in everyone and everything.
In his own words, he was simply `awesome'.
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