From Shani Shalgi

Even a month after his untimely death, I have tears  in my eyes as I write this. I am so proud to have known such a great man. Every word I read in this blog is true. It was Shlomo who introduced me to my advisor Leon, and I was privileged to work in his "sister lab", and have him on my PhD committee. When I think of Shlomo, so many images come to mind: Shlomo wearing a suit and tie when giving lectures (in Israel this is extremely rare), Shlomo dancing with me at a party in Bodrum, Turkey at ICON X 2008, Shlomo telling me about his latest ski trip, Shlomo calling me on Skype to let me know he managed to discover how to do something in Analyzer 2 without my help, Shlomo telling me I need to revise my entire PhD plan (wisely, of course), Shlomo asking me to slow down when I speak before I even open my mouth, Shlomo who loved all the latest technologies, Shlomo's smile, Shlomo's laugh, Shlomo who would ask my advice, Shlomo's words of encouragement, Shlomo who was so many people's mentor, an inspiration to everyone. Shlomo who you could talk to about almost anything. Shlomo who had a temper but always listened to the other side. Shlomo who you felt admired you like you admired him. That was his greatness. It is hard to express just how someone touches your life, I like to look at the photos I have of Shlomo in many of our lab's events and remember all the things I loved about Shlomo. In the past year, every time my 3-year old spoke in rhyme, I thought of Shlomo, who taught us word games are so important for learning later how to read. I recall the saga he had with the Israeli ministry of Education and smile knowing he had the satisfaction of knowing he was right, and today everybody knows he was.

Shlomo, I'm so sorry that you are no longer here, thank you for everything, and I hope to be more like you.

From Eric Perez

I heard the terrible news about Shlomo from a friend (Amir), when I was in the midst of preparation for my son's Bar-Mitzvah. Beyond the initial shock and disbelief, I was filled, like so many others, with deep sorrow.

I have read through so many of the posts written about Shlomo and I can comfortably agree and relate to so many of them. I worked for Shlomo when his lab was at its early stages, before it became an empire. Like many others, during the time I worked with Shlomo I have had the pleasure, and also at times the difficulty, to experience his perfectionism, his attention to details and his thoroughness. Trust me, facing Shlomo after stuffing up the connection on the EEG recording equipment, was not an easy task.

I wanted thought, to share with everyone, one aspect of Shlomo that I have had the honour to experience personally. Shlomo was not someone to go unnoticed (yes, it is an understatement), but I also believe that many of his personality aspects derived from his great integrity. When I was working on my masters in cognitive psychology, something I never completed despite Shlomo's genuine and caring protests, I conducted with him several experiments on face perception. These experiments, were eventually published as articles in renown professional magazines. Shlomo, despite the fact that he has put a massive amount of work and effort in this research, has insisted and ensured that my name is mentioned/published before his. I still recall the discussion we had about that, and how adamant he was that my name should appear before his. He explained himself calmly, without a single shroud of arrogance and in a very fatherly way, why he truly believed this is the way it should be. I was amazed and appreciative of this, to me this was another indication on how passionate he was about science and research and not the titles or "stripes" that came with being a great researcher.

I can easily sum my feelings towards Shlomo in one word, pride! I am proud to have been his student, I am proud to have been able to work for Shlomo and most of all, I am proud to have known Shlomo.

I will greatly miss you Shlomo...

From Anat Perry

Shlomo was one of a kind. I can't find the words to explain how much he meant to me.

He was my mentor from the very start of my academic life.

He taught the most interesting class I took in the BA, which made me fall in love with the field of Neuropsychology, and join his lab as a research assistant. From then on, I never left. I had the privilege of working with Shlomo as lab manager, and under his guidance throughout my MA and PhD studies.

I remember the first time I saw him come into the lab with a new poster for a coming conference, probably one of hundreds he had presented already. I remember thinking that I would never be so passionate about my first poster, as he was about any one of his. I would keep being astonished from his enthusiasm from every new project, new experiment, new results, new ideas. And he was full of new ideas.

Shlomo's passion for science was contagious. He worked day and night, and those who worked with him closely knew that the best time to catch a good quiet talk with him was probably 2 am. This also meant you could get 'urgent' phone calls from him, about a tough paragraph or about new results, at any time of the day and every day of the week. But I had no problem continuing getting these urgent calls from him 24/7 all my life.

Shlomo taught his students to always doubt him and others, to argue but also to listen and respect, to be open to alternative explanations, to keep looking for answers but mostly to ask more questions.

Working in Shlomo's lab meant joining a big family – Shlomo truly cared about his students, their wellbeing, their academic and personal lives.  Shlomo was the first and one of the few who insisted his office should be inside the lab, so he would always be a part of what was going on. Entering the lab you would encounter scientific discussions mixed with personal stories, political arguments, frustrations and celebrations.

Throughout the years Shlomo became much more than an academic mentor to me.  We shared stories about our lives and families, our frustrations from Israeli politics and our thoughts about the future. We argued and laughed a lot. He knew when I was going through tough times, and would find the kind words to comfort or help me. I loved and valued how Shlomo never hid his thoughts and feelings, and made sure to tell me exactly what he thought about my personal decisions – whether in future career dilemmas, in clinical practice, or in choosing my partner (luckily, on that we agreed… :) ).

Of course, working together did not end when leaving the lab. I always enjoyed coming to work at Shlomo's house, joining him and Miri for coffee, sometimes accompanied by their children or grandchildren. Shlomo and Miri's house was so welcoming and warm, and I had plans to keep my visits there long after my PhD was over.

Shlomo was one of a kind.

I will miss him as a teacher, a mentor and a friend.

From Noam Sagiv

15 years ago I spent a year in Shlomo's lab, as an MSC student. I didn't have any research experience in psychology or neuroscience. In fact I was just a physics/chemistry student who happened to read Oliver Sacks' 'The man who mistook his wife for a hat' and decided that the brain is probably more interesting than molecules.

In retrospect, it is a wonder how easy it was to join the lab with such limited background. But Shlomo had patience for anyone willing to learn and was committed to helping students who started in other disciplines get into cognitive neuroscience. This was also the spirit of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC; Shlomo was of the founders).

Of course he was always busy and travelled a lot and managed to stay in touch even when he was away; we probably talked more often when he spent a couple of months in Leipzig - this was over e-mail before skype existed....

Shlomo's lab was already a little empire back then in many respects. I may not have realised until years later how privileged I was to be a part of this world-class lab. Indeed, the highly prestigious 'Israel Prize' he got earlier this year came as no surprise (the only question was the timing).

During the year I spent in the lab, Shlomo organised two international conferences (ESCoP and a smaller neuropsychology conference) where I first had a chance to meet some world leaders in cognitive neuroscience and face perception in particular (I was very excited when he led Vicky Bruce to my first poster, a study of the N170). That year was my gateway to the world stage and I'm grateful to Shlomo for this. This was indeed quite an extraordinary year with an extraordinary mentor.

At the end of the year I headed to Berkeley to pursue my PhD. By the time Shlomo started visiting Berkeley regularly, I had already left and moved to London. It's a shame I didn't get a chance to see him more often since.

Shlomo's untimely death is a great loss. My thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues in Jerusalem, Berkeley, and around the world.

From Boaz Sadeh

I had the great honor of meeting and knowing Shlomo back in Israel, and later on in Berkeley. The lab I did my thesis in, and Shlomo's lab, worked on similar research fields and often with similar methods. One could fear a potential rivalry in this case, but as soon as we met, Shlomo rapidly became a friend, a colleague, and that grand expert that willingly shared knowledge, smiles and homemade cookies. It was all so natural, as Shlomo used to start any conversation with a frank inquiry after your news and went on with endless adventure stories (you wouldn't want them to end) of his latest travels, research exploits and family. In his scientific making as well as in social interaction he skillfully combined an old fashioned noble character with a cheerful and playful attitude. And just when you thought you've heard it all about Shlomo, you discovered more. That he speaks French, that he's now also into Theory of Mind...  He really was full of surprises.  

When my wife an I moved to Berkeley, Miri and Shlomo knew just how to give us the warm welcome and valuable orientation we could use, and during the past months Shlomo would call me periodically just to check on me and make sure all is well. With all the differences between us in position and age, he treated me as an equal. As a friend.  

There's a lesson for us all to be learned from this man. A lesson on how profundity can go hand in hand with humor. Stature with kindness. Hobbies with work. Self confidence with tons of questions. Amusing stories about the past with serious plans for the future. Berkeley with Jerusalem. In his death, much like in his life, he leaves us full of wonder.

I am glad to have worked with you Shlomo, even if just a little. I am glad to have known you.

From Tali Shrem

When I first met Shlomo, to say that I was intimidated by him would be an understatement: me, an undergraduate student interested in taking his seminar, and him, an important professor, elegantly dressed (not very common in Israel), in his beautiful office. He seemed strict and serious sitting at his huge desk… In fact at our first meeting I was afraid to speak. Nonetheless, following this meeting I took his seminar, deeply impressed by his research and by my first impression of his personality. Years later, when occasionally I was reminded of this first impression I had of him (mainly when he asked questions at the cognitive colloquium at the psychology department) it made me laugh.

As a graduate student at the "twin" lab I quickly realized how misleading first impressions can be, and how my image of Shlomo did not reflect who he actually was. I realized that he was so much more than a brilliant scientist, and certainly not someone to fear. By often entering our lab, sharing funny stories, asking about our lives, about our research, and always listening to the answers, Shlomo showed us daily what a wonderful caring person he was. Whenever I needed help or support he was always there, listening and offering advice.

It was a great honor for me to meet Shlomo. It was an honor to learn from him, to work with him on a research project at his lab, and most of all to know him as a human being. I know he believed in me and I wish I had the chance to cause him pride or satisfaction before he died. Tragically, he will not be there to see me as I continue working on my Ph.D.

Shlomo, thank you for everything. I miss you.

Tali

From Oren Shriki

In the last few years I co-supervised together with Shlomo the PhD research of Itamar Lerner. This was a very unique opportunity for me to learn from Shlomo and be inspired by him. Itamar just submitted his PhD thesis this May and might be the last PhD student of Shlomo. The work involved both experimental and theoretical aspects and my contribution was mainly in the theoretical parts. Shlomo was highly involved in all the details of the theoretical work and his guidance and help were instrumental to important decisions we had to make along the way. When we wrote the papers he paid attention to every detail, from the overall structure of the paper to the terminology and wording that were used. His comments significantly improved the papers and I was always impressed by his thoroughness and skill. His high standards will surely serve as a role model for me. Our first paper with Shlomo after his untimely death was just published in PLoS ONE. It includes a dedication to his memory at the Acknowledgements section. (Here is a link to the paper: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0040663).

Besides being a great scientist, Shlomo was a great person to collaborate with and had a very warm and direct personality. They say that the principles of teaching and mentoring are love and personal example. Shlomo definitely had both and his legacy will always inspire me.