I got to know Ashish through Google Summer of Code (GSoC) in 2014, a remote coding internship program sponsored by Google. Ashish was my mentor for this program while I was in grad school in Portugal. Although it started as a remote internship, Ashish has been a mentor to me ever since. I moved to Atlanta and started my postdoc with him after my Ph.D. Ashish is a unique, cheerful, and kind person and an excellent professor. He actively engaged in the research of the whole department selflessly, in addition to mentoring and leading his Sharmalab research team. His diagnosis came as a shocker to us. However, he was more cheerful than others around him, still trying his best to manage the lab while having his own battles. He was there for us regardless of his health. As his postdocs and engineers, we often visited him at his home and shared jokes and giggles with him. He extended his fullest support and encouragement when I applied for a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Alaska Anchorage. These days, I can sense his presence and blessings as I prepare to establish my research lab in Alaska. The visions he shared and the collaborations we initiated will continue, including papers that are still under review or in writing with Ashish as a co-author. Ashish will continue to be our guiding star for many more decades.

My timeline with Ashish goes like this (shortened above to highlight more important milestones):

* As his GSoC student, remotely from Portugal (2014, 2015)

* Continuous collaboration since 2014 and a research visit to Emory University for 7 months during my PhD (2016) as his engineer.

* As his postdoc at Emory University (2019 – 2022).

* His blessings and support as I start my tenure-track assistant professor position at the University of Alaska Anchorage (August 2023)