Tribute to Our Dearest Professor. Kirk R Smith

A light has gone out. The light that was unparalleled in its warmth, glow, radiance, brilliance and endurance has passed on. But before it went down, it had already lit thousands of others all around the world. The light that kindled a fiery spirit of inquiry, fanned it with years of sheer hard work, embellished it with a relentless pursuit of scientific methods,communicated with the rest of the world in the most ingenious ways, advocated for the weaker lights with the fiercest sense of well-founded confidence and transformed the lives of anyone who came within its perimeter, can never really die!

And that’s why our teacher, our colleague and our dearest friend, Professor. Kirk R Smith lives on. He lives in the lives of millions of poor women for whom he dedicated his science, he lives in the lives of thousands of students in multiple countries for whom he gave his selfless hours, he lives in the lives of hundreds of colleagues who have learnt from his extra-ordinary breadth of knowledge and sincerity, he lives in the numerous pieces of guidance that were born out his foresight and finally he lives in the countless lives that he touched with dignity and grace.

Kirk taught us to believe in science and the power of systematic approaches. He taught us to cultivate the virtues of patience and persistence to do anything worthwhile. He taught us to learn from the field experience, be it about aerosol behaviour or women’s preferences. He taught us that exposure matters for everyone and everywhere. He guided each one of us, as we grew from being fledgling nothings to becoming passionate and respected professionals.  We are grateful that God gave us this opportunity to share these years with such a fine human being.

To Joan and Nadia and the community of air pollution researchers that Kirk introduced us, we promise that the legacy of Kirk will live on. We cannot possibly fill his shoes or fill the void that he has left in this world. But we assure you that we will carry his tradition of being inclusive, collaborative and ethical in everything that we pursue. We will try our best to build capacities for those who lack it and continue acquiring capacities from those willing to share it.  Kirk made this world a beautiful, honorable place. We will try to keep it that way.

We pay obeisance to his soul. May his soul rest in peace.

With Pranams.

Kalpana Balakrishnan, Sankar Sambandam, Krishnendu Mukhopadhyay,Gurusamy Thangavel, Naveen Puttaswamy, Padmavathy Ramaswamy, Priscilla Johnson, Santu Ghosh, Vijayalakshmi Thanasekaraan.