Although Sam and I did not quite overlap at Gatsby it has always felt to me like we did. This is because Sam was such a central part of the extended Gatsby-Toronto research family, and because of the way he selflessly gave so much of himself, his time and his ideas to everyone he met.
Without fail, whenever I met Sam he would be incredibly excited to tell me and others about a new computational trick he had just learnt, or a great paper that he had just read. Wearing a wide-eyed grin and with a slightly manic laugh he would reach for a pen and paper and I would be hooked. In these moments his enthusiasm was so genuine and encompassing that you could not help but be inspired.
Like others posting here, one of the last times I saw Sam was when he was visiting Cambridge for the Newton Institute program. A number of us met with Sam and Meredith for brunch outside on a (rare for England) glorious summer’s day.
Sam will be missed immensely by all who knew him. My thoughts are with his family.
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