[3dem] Alok Mitra

[Baker, Timothy]

The news about Alok is very very sad.  Alok was a passionate and compassionate scientist who touched the lives of so many of us in positive ways.  He will be sorely missed but long remembered.

Sincerely, Tim Baker
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Timothy S. Baker, Emeritus Professor
Departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive #0378
La Jolla, California 92093-0378
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Message: 2
    Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:50:21 +0000
    From: Anchi Cheng <acheng at nysbc.org>
    To: "3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu" <3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>
    Subject: [3dem] Alok Mitra
    Message-ID: <DECE5844-EE7B-4F45-AF10-5A1818CAA2A8 at nysbc.org>
    Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

    Dear 3D-EM community,
    It is with great sadness that I heard that Alok Mitra passed away early in July.
    Alok, an X-ray crystallographer by training, was one of the early adopters of 3D structure determination using electron microscopy. From two-dimensional crystallography, to filament structure, to single particle analysis, he tackled them all.
    I was fortunate enough to be his first postdoc at what was then The Scripps Research Institute in 1995.  Alok was always kind and patient.  He was also passionate about the field, and rigorous about the work. Our countless discussions on what our 6 ? aquaporin-1 structure meant are some of my favorite moments in science.
    After he moved to the University of Auckand, New Zealand, he continued to contribute to the field and guided many students and postdocs.  Many of us remain in the 3DEM field, a tribute to his mentorship.
    Alok?s generosity and energy for his work did not change. I was told that he still spoke enthusiastically about the papers he was working on, his research, and how proud he was of his students and members of his lab, even to the last days of his illness.
    I will certainly miss him as will so many in our community.

    Best regards,
    Anchi Cheng
    Senior Staff Scientist
    Simons Electron Microscopy Center
    New York Structural Biology Center