Bittersweet congrats to Manuel (‘Manu’) Kuhn! New postdoctoral position at McLean with the Pizzagalli group.

To quote, Dr. Smith (top-center), “Manuel, we’ve enjoyed having you here. You’ve been a pleasure to have in the lab. I know the graduate students have benefited immensely from having you here to help them. When we both sent code to extract an ROI to help an unnamed grad-student, they used yours because it “made more sense.” That is a valuable thing. Other things you’ve given to them have also “made sense.” There is something special about knowing you have left a mark on students as they move forward and I think you have left something here. It’s a nice thing to hold on to when you’re fighting with reviewers on your next paper. You’ve also helped me with looking back at the big picture. It’s easy (and fun) to get lost in complex solutions to at least seemingly simple problems. It’s worth it to be reminded that rather than always hunting more and more complex solutions, simple ones can also have utility. It was humbling to see your “let’s just do it” SPM/SPM results pop as expected when JFS/JFS results were null no matter what the ultimate reason and outcome. There is definitely something to be learned there and I will try to remember it. I hate being wrong with all of my being but I absolutely love it too and would never pass it up so, thank you. I hope the totality of the AAS experience we’ve had gives you that same perspective. Seeking knowledge is difficult. Mostly we fail miserably. Maybe, once in a blue moon, we hit something truly interesting. Even if it never sees publication, that new piece of knowledge you’ve found it worth all the effort.
That said, you BETTER get something together to submit … within the next month or I’m coming up to Boston with a big stick to hunt you down! We’ve enjoyed having you in the lab and I wish you all the best in the future.”