In the following tribute, graduate students in the atmospheric
science department remember their friend and colleague, Brian
Bosart.
I sat beside Brian at work every day; there was only a divider
between us. I would like to share a little about a typical day at
work with Brian. He always came to work at around 8 a.m. because he
just liked to wake up early. Since Brian had a laptop, he would sit
on the futon when I came into the office. He would greet me with,
“Afternoon!,” teasing me about coming to work so late
in the morning. Sometimes we would have lunch together. He would
often go to Rubio’s and get some fish tacos. We would chat
about anything and everything over lunch. Then we would walk back
to the windowless office and work for a few hours, him on the futon
with his laptop … I could see his sandy hair from my desk. And
when it was a beautiful day outside ““ not too unusual in Los
Angeles ““ we would go get ice cream from Kerckhoff Coffee
House. Or on Wednesday afternoons, Brian would ask me to walk to
Westwood with him to buy cookies for our weekly seminar. Several
times in the past, we would be very bad and take a lazy afternoon
off to catch a matinee in Westwood; we would go see a cheesy movie
and have a great time. On some occasions, Brian and I would go up
to the top floor of our building to play ping-pong. Perhaps one of
my fondest memories of Brian is when he threw a little green hippo
which he called “Koosh” over the office divider and hit
me on the head while I was working. I would return Koosh over to
his side, only to hit another office mate instead. Brian even tried
to teach me how to throw so that I would be able to hit him with
Koosh. Then at the end of the day, Brian would put on his old
little grayish-blue backpack and head for home, usually around 6 or
6:30 in the evening. One quarter, Brian became a teaching
assistant. I was also a TA that same quarter. The students loved
Brian because he was so easy to talk to. Once, while giving a
midterm review, Brian went up to the chalkboard and drew the
biggest circle (he was drawing the earth) I have ever seen on a
chalkboard and he stepped back and said to himself out loud,
“That’s a perfect circle!” The entire lecture
hall burst out in laughter. And he was right, it was a perfect
circle. I started this letter writing about Brian’s typical
day, but in reality, there was no “typical day” with
Brian. Every day was as unique as the next when he was around.
Brian was the happiest person I have ever met and I am lucky to
have shared some of his happiness with him. ““ Amy
Boonsiriseth
I would like to give testimony to the kind heart and generous
spirit I felt from Brian. But I also wanted to share what I saw of
him when he served others with that same heart and spirit. One of
the reasons that I’ve really appreciated Brian is how he was
unlike so many other graduate students. He was, of course,
outgoing. But he was more than that; he was a leader who wanted to
make a difference, who was not content with just accepting the
state of affairs he faced, but who wanted to improve things. He was
not naive about the barriers that existed, but he wanted to work to
help others, to help things become better. And he gave of his time
and energy to do so. But in all of this, Brian was not
self-righteous either. He wanted to learn. Instead of
self-righteousness, Brian conveyed gentleness and acceptance, even
as he worked to help make the department become an even better
place. ““ Johnny Wei-Bing Lin
Brian’s unflaggingly positive attitude has inspired me to
do what he has always done ““ focus on the good and not dwell
on the bad. All the friends I’ve introduced Brian to agree
with me that he was great to go out with; his wacky behavior made
any time an entertaining one. There was no such thing as a boring
time with Boz. I already miss him greatly. His humor, eagerness to
please, lack of guile and willingness to do anything and everything
will always be a part of me. ““ Lee Paul Graves
I remember the last conversation I had with Brian was in one of
the student offices a week before his accident. He talked about
what he would like to do and where he would like to be after his
graduation. We were not close friends, but when we happened to walk
by each other in the hallway, we would often stop to chat for a
long time. He had an admirable attitude and a personality that is
unforgettable. ““ June Chang
I will remember the smiling face. I will remember his laughter,
which you could hear down the hallway. I will remember him sitting
on the futon with his feet propped up on a chair. I will remember
him snickering as I would try to move around his outstretched legs
without hitting that chair. I will remember his kind words and his
positive outlook. I will remember his incredible work ethic and his
constant drive to pull all of his friends closer together. I will
remember his ever-present generosity and his willingness to do
almost anything to keep everyone entertained. Brian Bosart
definitely touched the lives of everyone who knew him. I feel
honored and selfishly happy that I got to know him. He was a rare
find in these times ““ a genuinely good-hearted person who
strove not only to be happy, but to make those around him happy as
well. I shall miss him and his friendship. ““ Matthew Takeshi
Uller
The one thing I noticed most about Brian was his remarkable lust
for life. He always had a vibrant and positive attitude toward
everything and everyone, and he seemed to leave a little bit of
that with everyone he met. I just hope that all those who did get
to know Brian will keep passing that vibrancy on. I know that I am
going to try! ““ Devin Kramer
The thing we’ll remember most about Brian is his
ever-present smile. ““ Bidushi Bhattacharya
I feel as though I’m a better person for knowing Brian.
Our friendship was still developing as we got to know each other
better over the past year, from the time I started at UCLA. His
tremendous character struck me more than anything else. And he was
a well-rounded person who cared about his friends as much as his
research. I can recall how Brian made me feel welcome in the
department when I first arrived. He made an effort to introduce me
to other students and invite me to various happenings during our
free time. His enthusiasm and quick wit were infectious, and I
enjoyed conversing with him about baseball, the weather and pretty
much anything else that crossed either of our minds. Brian was a
real friend to me, and I will miss him. ““ Brian Kahn
Brian was one of the most wonderful people I ever met. Both of
us worked for Dr. Roger Wakimoto and we shared a lot on our
research. He was always ready to help if I ever needed anything
from him. ““ Huaqing Cai