Eriks Kupce
09-05 2022 11:39
wrote:
My Humboldt fellowship in Germany was running out and my host - Prof. B. Wrackmeyer suggested I write 10 - 20 letters to different NMR professors to find my next position, which I did. The only positive response came from the place that I least expected - Cambridge and it was from Ray Freeman. I was so incredibly lucky! I used the last two month of my Humboldt fellowship to travel to Cambridge. Most of his PhD students Lisa McIntyre, Ping and Xi-Li Wu were leaving within a week and did a quick intro to Varian VXR400 that Ray had in his lab. I was about to finish my first project on indirect detection of O-17 when Ray came to the lab and gave me a manuscript - "why don't you read this". I was so ashamed that I did not write it up in time. So, I rushed to write up my second project on binomial filters and gave it to Ray. I could hardly find any of my text when it came back from Ray next day, neatly printed and with perfect figures. At that point I realized that writing was out of my hands and the next 60 or so papers that we published with Ray were always masterfully written by Ray. My two month in his lab ended and in the meantime Ray organized for me a special Royal Society stipend for Baltic countries that just had broken free from the USSR. This lasted for about two years and towards the end of my time in Cambridge Howard Hill (Varian) was visiting the lab. Ray suggested I apply for a position at Varian, which I did. Indeed, I was invited to Palo Alto for an interview, but my first attempt was unsuccessful.... So, I ended up with Prof. Iain Campbell in Oxford. However, the bond with Ray was never broken and we continued our collaboration for the next 20 years. I sometimes felt a little guilty for taking so much of his time, but he seemed to enjoy our discussions and kept writing papers up to his 80th birthday. He often gave up his invitations to conferences in my favour and I am so much indebt to Ray for all these years of collaboration. He made research so interesting and so enjoyable. Always enthusiastic about new ideas and so inspiring, even when I felt it was not worth pursuing. He was such a master of turning boring into exciting. Not to mention brilliant acronyms that he invented for every new invention. And then came the Laukien Prize. He felt very embarrassed and did not want to accept it. He only accepted to make sure I would receive the honour, which I never would without Ray's help. He has done so much for me and many other of his students and post-docs. He has created so many stars and superstars in the NMR universe. Yet, he always remained so human, gentle, kind and modest, a true nobleman.
Eriks Kupce
09-05 2022 11:39
wrote:
My Humboldt fellowship in Germany was running out and my host - Prof. B. Wrackmeyer suggested I write 10 - 20 letters to different NMR professors to find my next position, which I did. The only positive response came from the place that I least expected - Cambridge and it was from Ray Freeman. I was so incredibly lucky! I used the last two month of my Humboldt fellowship to travel to Cambridge. Most of his PhD students Lisa McIntyre, Ping and Xi-Li Wu were leaving within a week and did a quick intro to Varian VXR400 that Ray had in his lab. I was about to finish my first project on indirect detection of O-17 when Ray came to the lab and gave me a manuscript - "why don't you read this". I was so ashamed that I did not write it up in time. So, I rushed to write up my second project on binomial filters and gave it to Ray. I could hardly find any of my text when it came back from Ray next day, neatly printed and with perfect figures. At that point I realized that writing was out of my hands and the next 60 or so papers that we published with Ray were always masterfully written by Ray. My two month in his lab ended and in the meantime Ray organized for me a special Royal Society stipend for Baltic countries that just had broken free from the USSR. This lasted for about two years and towards the end of my time in Cambridge Howard Hill (Varian) was visiting the lab. Ray suggested I apply for a position at Varian, which I did. Indeed, I was invited to Palo Alto for an interview, but my first attempt was unsuccessful.... So, I ended up with Prof. Iain Campbell in Oxford. However, the bond with Ray was never broken and we continued our collaboration for the next 20 years. I sometimes felt a little guilty for taking so much of his time, but he seemed to enjoy our discussions and kept writing papers up to his 80th birthday. He often gave up his invitations to conferences in my favour and I am so much indebt to Ray for all these years of collaboration. He made research so interesting and so enjoyable. Always enthusiastic about new ideas and so inspiring, even when I felt it was not worth pursuing. He was such a master of turning boring into exciting. Not to mention brilliant acronyms that he invented for every new invention. And then came the Laukien Prize. He felt very embarrassed and did not want to accept it. He only accepted to make sure I would receive the honour, which I never would without Ray's help. He has done so much for me and many other of his students and post-docs. He has created so many stars and superstars in the NMR universe. Yet, he always remained so human, gentle, kind and modest, a true nobleman.
