Barry Chai's Eulogy

Barry was born on May 21, 1985 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He was lively and energetic right from the start. Robots and locomotive toys were his favourite childhood playthings. He grew up surrounded by his grandparents and cousins, and was the pride and joy of his parents.

In 1996, after finishing Grade Six in Taiwan, Barry immigrated to Vancouver, Canada with his family, where he became immersed in western culture. This broadened his horizons, but at the same time he retained the characteristics of frugality and modesty of the east. In high school Barry enjoyed basketball, martial arts, and skiing. He read extensively, Chinese kung fu novels and books on history, and eagerly explored the differences between eastern and western philosophy. While Barry was always proud of being Chinese, he also acquired strengths from the independence accorded to youth in the west.

In 2003, Barry was accepted into the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of British Columbia, and was on track to fulfilling his lifelong dream to enter the world of robotics. During his college years, Barry did co-op work terms at Vancouver Children's Hospital (MRI - image analysis and data processing), North Vancouver's Honeywell (programming of process control and stimulation software, and the Toshiba Research Centre in Yokohama, Japan (robot image sensing research). These experiences confirmed his belief that he had made the right choice in career goals. Being so kindhearted and easygoing, Barry made many friends in college. He always stayed close to his family, spending time visiting and travelling together. He stayed in touch with the extended family to which he felt such a deep connection. In order to pursue his robotics research, Barry left Canada in 2008 to join the Vision Lab at Princeton University as a research assistant. At work, Barry was dedicated, determined, and dependable, always going the extra mile, just like his dad.

In 2009, Barry was admitted into the Graduate School of Stanford University, majoring in Computer Science with a focus on artificial intelligence. Here he excelled, benefiting greatly from his mentor and friend, Dr. Fei-Fei Li. In the sunny California Bay area, he enjoyed close relationships with friends and relatives. It proved to be the most brilliant and productive period of his life.

Barry wrapped up his second research paper on time in June, 2010. In good spirits, he packed up and headed out to Southern California for a family vacation. It was June 8. On the highway near Fresno, a fierce gust of wind caused him to lose control of the steering. As if at the end of an exuberant symphony, his life suddenly came to a full stop. He left us when his light shone the brightest. He was 25.

蔡文邦生平事略

蔡文邦出生1985年5月21日，台灣高雄，從小活潑好動，熱愛機器人、軌道車等組裝玩具。在阿公阿媽，堂表弟妹陪伴下快樂成長，父母也享受與他一起成長的喜悅。

1996年小學畢業，移民加拿大溫哥華，開展視野，接受西方文化洗禮，同時保有東方文化節儉謙和的特質。 中學時熱愛籃球，柔道，滑雪等運動，廣讀武俠小說及歷史著作，熱衷於比較東西方哲學思想差異。以身為華人自豪，也學習西方孩子獨立堅強的長處，為離家入大學作好準備。

2003年到加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學，為了圓從小喜愛機器人的夢想，選擇工程物理系就讀，在校期間曾先後工讀於溫哥華兒童醫院(作MRI的影像資料分析處理)，Honeywell公司(寫程序控制模擬軟體)，更到日本橫濱東芝研究中心，參與機器人影像視覺研究，逐漸定出自我方向。大學期間廣交朋友，和善待人，瀟灑不拘小節，也常與家族結伴旅遊，雖移居國外仍根繫海外大家族。

2008年遠赴他鄉到普林斯頓大學當研究助理，因選擇所愛機器人相關領域，工作狂熱，敬業負責，顯露出與父親一樣的特質。

2009年進入史丹佛大學研究所，投入人工智慧研究領域，在李飛飛教授亦師亦友之指導下，受益良多。在陽光的灣區，也受到諸多親友的照顧，享受人生最忙碌，最踏實，也最燦爛的時期。

2010年6月初剛交出第二篇報告，滿車歡笑開往南加州訪親渡假途中，大風下方向盤一個閃失，劃下閃耀生命的休止符。在人生最燦爛時，滿心歡喜，瀟灑離去，享年二十五歲。

From Jyanwei Liu

Memorial Speech for Barry Chai on June 17,2010

Good afternoon, we are here today to mourn the loss of a young life, Barry Chai, a son, a brother, a friend, a classmate, and a decent young man, his demise is an irreparable loss to all of us.

Even more certain than tax, we know death is probably the only thing guaranteed in our life regardless of who you are or where you're from. The inevitability is not the issue here; it is the untimely loss of a young life that deeply troubled us.

I am Jyanwei Liu; I'd like to say a few things about Barry and his family. I get to know Barry and his family through my wife. Barry's mom Christine was my wife's roommate in college and my wife was her bridesmaid.

My wife and I moved to Bay Area in early 90's after finishing our graduate study, around the same time, in searching for a better educational environment, Barry's parent brought him and his sister to Bay Area from Taiwan to spend one semester, to try out in an elementary school in Sunnyvale. Barry was in 3rd grade at the time, he was a handsome boy full of energy and with good manner. My wife and I spent several weekends playing with him and he was very happy, busy in exploring the new environment, I remember the day when they about to leave Bay Area, we can tell Barry is already missing us, he said it all on his face; we like him so much and we know we will miss him too. Their family settled in Vancouver, Barry came back to visit us in his sophomore year in college, we were delighted to see a handsome boy turned a handsome young man, still full of energy and still with very good manner. Probably more mature than his same age peer, he asked us many questions of career development and seems very conscious about his study and his future.

The last time we see him was in March this year in Menlo Park, we had a dinner with him and his parents; again he asked us a lot of questions about career development, the relevance of pursuing either Ph.D. or master degree with respect to his career development, pros and cons about taking industry or academic job, government or private sector. My wife and I shared our graduate school experience with him and what we learned in our career, the good, the bad, and the ugly; not to scare him (nothing seems to scare him anyway) but to prepare him. That was a wonderful two hours spend with him, a decent young man full of optimism, planning and dreaming of his future. What conversation can be more pleasant than that?

My wife's nephew is coming to the US in July to pursue graduate study, she was planning to invite Barry over to interact with him and be an inspiring role model for him. All of this planning ends when we learned the unthinkable last Saturday. We struggled to comprehend why God allow this to happen and we know no words are kind enough to comfort parent's sorrow.

Still, Ted and Christine, please accept our hearty condolences at this difficult time. You brought up a very good young man and you should be proud of yourself. The physical part of Barry ceased to exist, we all miss him very much, but the spiritual part of him continues; Barry is in a better place. We pray God to give you and the whole family strength.

From Ted Chai

邦邦,
好久不見.
在台灣的三叔說,想放這首歌讓你聽,我看了歌詞,實在也是爸爸目前的心境,讓爸爸將歌詞唸給你聽.

【好久不見】
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhi1Ae8Ilwk&feature=related
陳奕迅 唱【好久不見】
作詞: 施立 作曲:陳小霞

我來到 你的城市 走過你來時的路
想像著 沒我的日子 你是怎樣的孤獨
拿著你 給的照片 熟悉的那一條街

只是沒了你的畫面 我們回不到那天
你會不會忽然的出現 在街角的咖啡店
我會帶著笑臉 揮手寒喧 和你 坐著聊聊天
我多麼想和你見一面 看看你最近改變
不再去說從前 只是寒喧 對你說一句
只是說．．一句
好久??不見??

拿著你 給的照片 熟悉的那一條街
只是沒了你的畫面 我們回不到那天
你會不會忽然的出現 在街角的咖啡店
我會帶著笑臉 揮手寒喧 和你 坐著聊聊天
我多麼想和你見一面 看看你最近改變
不再去說從前 只是寒喧 對你說一句
只是說．．一句
好久??不見??

邦邦一路西方極樂好走,不要回頭

傷痛的昇華

2010.07.11 White Rock追思會
媽媽的發言稿

傷痛的昇華

今天很謝謝在座文邦的長輩、朋友一齊到這裡回顧他一生的點點滴滴。
事發以來，我分分秒秒都在思考，到底什麼是人生，人生真的是無常、人生真的是苦海嗎？面對如此的衝擊，我要如何面對它、接受它、化解它？

6月14日去領取骨灰時，沒有言語、沒有淚水，小心翼翼的將文邦裝入一只姑姑帶來的黑袋子裡，文邦一輩子生活簡單，這回可真是極簡到只剩下一個黑袋子了，一旁殯儀館老闆輕輕的說：「我懂你的心，我曾經失去我兒子，所以我從事這個行業。」

走出殯儀館，天一樣的藍、陽光一樣耀眼、街上車子一樣呼嘯而過；餐廳裡一樣的柸盤聲、一樣的氣味，這世界、這宇宙還是一樣的轉動，只是在我心深處為何起這麼大的波瀾？

6月19日揮別舊金山，在飛機上一路緊緊抱著黑袋子，回想25年前大腹便便懷胎十個月，生下他時是個解脫，如今緊緊抱在懷裡，彷彿他又要回到媽媽的生命裡，回到當初的原點，也像是個解脫。

回到溫哥華家裡，有天開車要出門，有個鄰居突然出現在我車旁，告訴我：「我懂你的心，我曾經失去我８歲的女兒。」

隔天另一個鄰居老太太送來一張卡片，她也說同樣的話，「我懂你的心，我有二女一男，我失去我的兒子。」

又隔一天，有個文邦的朋友，在facebook上也告訴我這句話，「阿姨，我懂你的心，因為我8歲時失去我的爸爸。」

人生真的是無常嗎？
不，不是無常，這些都是平常，否則怎麼這麼多人告訴我一樣的話--「我懂你的心」，為什麼火化要排隊，申請死亡證明、車禍調查報告要等幾個禮拜，因為死亡每天不停的發生，各單位也來不及處理。

人生真的是苦海嗎？
不，人生不是苦海，因為我還有這麼多愛我的親友，給我溫暖與喜悅。我常認為吃苦如吃補，經過這次的補，再也沒有什麼苦解決不了的了。
人生不是苦海，喜悅、快樂就在生活間。

在座有很多的年輕朋友，在我眼中你們都是跟文邦一樣令人心愛的孩子。試試看，今晚就打個電話，跟父母報個平安，聊上兩句，隨便聊，即便是芝麻綠豆大的事，你的父母都會欣喜不已

人生決非苦海，喜悅就在左右
人生決非無常，一切都是平常

From Ted Chai

2010.06.17 Stanford追思會發言稿

給愛兒邦邦的話


媽媽說你兼具東西方文化的特質.我藉著佛經與聖經上的觀點,與你說些話.

佛經上說即使是人們迎面走過的一個短暫照面,不曉得要前世多少香火因緣,才能修而得來.---.

那麼說的話,子女與父母的因緣,更是要修好幾世.我們很珍重此段因緣.

邦邦我們很感謝你這25年帶給我們的快樂與驕傲. 媽媽說你這次走得最瀟灑.
請你滿心歡喜雲遊西方極樂世界去.

聖經上說, 尋覓在你 成就在你----.

你大學畢業後的最近這兩年,在李飛飛教授的帶領下,你第一年在Princeton大學作RA,第二年在Stanford大學攻讀Computer Science碩士.上週我們從與李飛飛教授的交談中,爸爸媽媽深深感覺到你已尋覓出人生的方向.李教授說最近與你一起經過三十多個小時不眠不休的努力,你剛於六月發三日表一篇新的論文.

你尋覓卓越,成就在你.爸爸相信你已全力已赴.功德圓滿.尋覓在你 成就在你..
Monica及爸爸與媽媽永遠以你的成就為榮.

邦邦愛兒.謝謝你賜給我們的好因緣.邦邦一路好走.無牽無掛雲遊西方極樂世界去.
我們永遠想念你.我們永遠愛你.

再會 再會 再會


爸爸草於06/17/2010@Palo Alto, CA

From Christine Hsieh

2010.06.17 Stanford追思會發言稿

媽媽的答謝辭

6月8日當我們正在加拿大多倫多附近旅途中，接到Barry遇難通知，一陣錯愕，還是鎮定的問清法警事件過程，當時我們的GPS也錯亂了，勉強找到方向，把車開到了預訂的旅館，匆匆訂妥機票，聯絡相關事宜，半夜就起程，在開往多倫多機場路上，才知高速公路因工程施工封閉中，GPS又錯亂了，在人生地不熟的多倫多，深夜�我們又失去了方向，還好Barry爸爸新買的iPad派上用場，找到一條小路，即時趕到機場。

飛行的五個小時�，眼睜睜的看著窗外，飛越美加上空，無垠天際、高山、冰原與湖泊，何等美麗壯觀，讓我再次領悟到生命的脆弱與渺小，但渺小脆弱的生命，卻可以這麼多采多姿，尤其是生命與生命間的交會，產生的火花，真是令人感動。

我與Barry的生命有二十五年的交會，一幕幕再現，生命不在乎長度，而在於深度，二十五年交會的火花，我已心滿意足了。

事發後沒有淚水，失去開車方向時，沒有慌亂，我懷疑我的心是否已乾枯，情感是否已真空了。應該不是，身為一個母親，有一種本能，當孩子需要媽媽時，再嬌弱的母親，也會變得堅強。現在兒子有難，自然也沒有太多的淚水，只有勇氣.。

今天很謝謝各位來到此，從每個人的眼�,我看到Barry與你交會的光芒。特別感謝亦師亦友的李教授飛飛，除了學術上的指導，也常與Barry討論人生，生活上各種課題，也感謝實驗室的同學、室友與Barry朝夕相處，感謝所有朋友與Barry的情誼，你們給Barry添加了生命的光彩，更感謝最後的一刻陪伴在Barry身旁的朋友，讓他走得一點都不孤單.。

我要替Barry謝謝剛來灣區時照顧他的親友、與他討論人生方向的長輩，大阿姨大姨丈三番兩次來學校探訪，這次事發更是全程24小時全方位照顧，三阿姨三姨丈安排主持紀念儀式，安定大家的心.

更要替Barry謝謝父親二十五年的養育之恩，爸爸在深夜�呼喚著邦邦，每掉一滴淚，就代表一句尚未告訴你的話。

媽媽要謝謝你陪伴妹妹長大，往日嘻鬧的日子不再，但今天的事件會是一門人生課程，讓妹妹終生受用不盡。.三十年前我也上過這麼一課，才有今日的凡事包容。

媽媽更要謝謝你給我這二十五年的生命光芒，我會一次一次的聆聽你生命的樂章.。

身為一個母親，最後我要誠心希望每個孩子照顧好自己，讓父母只有愛的享受，沒有愛的負擔。.

From: Jessica Chai

Dear Barry 哥哥:

記不記得我們在facebook上說好等你回來你要教我打Tennis
現在每當我看到S.H.E就會想起你
還記得我讀幼稚園時你告訴我
有一個?體叫S.H.E
而且你還告訴我要分開唸" S H E "
不可以唸成she
記得2008年我去UBC遊學
你總是那麼的照顧我
買甜甜圈給我吃,陪我聊天
看到wii就想起我們在地下室玩起 Mario Kart
看到數學
讓我想起來加拿大第一個學期看不太懂英文的我請教你數學
還記得當我心情不好你都會安慰我
還記得去年年底在西雅圖機場跟你說再見
那時睡眼惺忪的我
竟沒有想到這會是最後一次的見面…
還記得我們一起去剪頭髮
然後我們兩個人看著GPS試著找出回家的路
還記得你告訴我有"百度"這個網站
還記得我們上次一起去 San Fransisco 吃冰淇淋
還記得我們一起討論音樂
還記得我們一起跟姐姐鬥嘴玩摔腳
這些都會是最美好的回憶
謝謝你這些時間的陪伴...
即使以後見不到了...
你永遠都會在我心中...
那個最棒,最有趣,最nice,最帥,最幽默的人
再見惹...親愛的你...
再一次的謝謝你...

Cousin, Jessica

From: Michelle Dow

憶Barry 哥哥
2009年盛夏，媽媽在家裡辦了一個小型的聚會，因為爭奪色彩繽紛的玻璃瓶裝汽水我們開起Barry哥哥的玩笑，
　
Barry哥哥開心的灌下一口藍色氣泡飲料，對我們笑著說
「…瓶口沾上口水就行了！哈哈哈哈！」，這舉動就像我家弟弟一樣。
但結束時，不落痕跡的帶上一罐飲料給Monica姐姐，卻讓我們感受到兄妹間的愛。

爸媽對於Barry哥哥的幽默感、加上機智敏捷的反應總是讚不絕口：一個有想法，非常開朗聰明，但帶有一些孩子氣，很好相處的人。對我來說，他甚至像是小說或是故事中，標準的鄰家大哥哥的典範 – 會跟兄弟姐妹自然的拌嘴打鬧，很照顧人，笑容滿面又知識豐富。

我記得，數不清多少次在他難得放假回家的時候打電話去問問題，問有關IB選課和考試，再來問大學選擇加拿大還是美國、東岸或是西岸，再到大學修課考試時間分配…要知道他已經畢業好幾年了。這些事不見得記得，但Barry哥哥總是很有耐心不厭其煩的回答我的問題，從不會含糊帶過，而是坦白爽朗的把所知的告訴我，甚至還會開幾個玩笑緩緩氣氛，好像是我這個初入大學的丫頭所承受的壓力比在Stanford研究所苦讀的他還要大似的。

還記得他送的Wii射擊遊戲，苦練了一個禮拜的弟弟在Barry哥哥來時迫不及待的跟他「下戰書」。對於囂張又沒大沒小的這位小弟弟，他沒有擺架子沒有瞧不起，他開開心心的從弟弟手上接過射擊搖桿，冷靜的打出比我們最高記錄還要多出數倍的分數。面對幾個小孩子傻住的臉，他沒有任何一句冷嘲熱諷，反而是開朗的把許多技巧不藏私的傳授，還說隨時歡迎弟弟的挑戰。這是我們見過最帥氣的哥哥。

又到炎夏，當陽光照下時去年的笑聲和回憶彷彿就在眼前。我相信哥哥一定會在另一個世界幫助別人成為最溫暖的一道陽光。最後，謝謝非常照顧我們的Ted伯伯，Christine伯母–謝謝你們，讓我們有機會認識成熟體貼、親切自然的Barry哥哥。

From Angela Wei 馬媽媽

永懷Barry

1997 年夏天，Barry搬到White Rock的第一天就在電梯�和我們相遇，當時的他正幫著爸爸搬電視機，眼�注視著我們家弟弟手�的Nintendo 64，兩?剛從台灣搬來想在White Rock尋屋定居，而暫租在公寓的家庭從此成?了好朋友，Barry時常擔起大哥的責任照顧弟弟妹妹，記得Barry第一次認識我們家的爸爸，?家告訴她爸媽說，馬媽媽有三個兒子。那個英俊又可愛的男孩，在他12?的生日得到了Nintendo 64 的禮物，我明白了這對疼愛小孩的父母，一點都不溺愛孩子。
當我們各自找到房子后，孩子們在一起的機會減少了，偶而的聚會和電話聲音�，我知道Barry 從男孩轉變成了 young man, 長成了高大的帥哥，再成熟為沉穩的gentleman。Barry與眾不同的在中學時對老子道家思想有興趣，在大學時能自己烹煮健康的食物。當別人的父母在誇耀自己的孩子多?優秀時，Christine 和Ted ?是輕輕帶過的說，我們家的孩子都是放牛吃草。由Barry的memorial blog �Li Fei Fei 教授和朋友的感言，更加明白Christine 和Ted 這樣?斂智慧的父母，培育出這?熱忱、善良、傑出的孩子，是努力是運氣也是福氣。Barry，出生在如此幸福的家庭是多大的福報，而有你這樣優秀的孩子，是你父母多大的福氣與驕傲。
人生在世，緣深緣淺，緣起緣滅，由不得人，縱然有再多的惋惜和不捨，我們也必須試著擦去眼淚，祝福你一路好走。 感恩這輩子認識你，感謝你為我們所做的一切，我們永遠坏念你！以你為榮！請你放心，勇敢地往前走，你的父母有我們這些好友的陪伴與支持，相信他們會以過人的智慧與勇氣走過這艱苦的難關。
祝福你，孩子，我們永遠祝福你，Barry，一路好走，不要?頭！

Angela 馬媽媽
July 9，2010

From: Dennis Lin 林育全

The shock and sorrow overwhelmed me when I was awoken by my mother, 王富美, and her early phone call. Knowing 邦邦 since kindergarten, my memories of him are as deeply ingrained in me as part of my own life. 邦邦 and I went to 經一幼稚園 together and the same Sesame Street English Academy. Because of that, our families became close friends, and this family friendship extended and strengthened as 邦邦 and his family immigrated to Canada. The two families even spent a short period of time living together under one roof before the Tsai family moved to White Rock. I still remember 邦邦 helping me mow the lawn under the scorching sun and 蔡爸爸's gift of a BBQ grill before moving. Although Barry and I pursued our own life journey ever since childhood, I will always remember how we enjoyed eating frozen yogurt after Sesame Street, and how our mothers took us to eat 水餃 across the street from the English academy on 文橫路. I will treasure these memories with me, and I send my deepest sympathy and condolences to 阿姨, 叔叔, and Monica.

 

 

林育全

Dora阿姨的信

Dora阿姨的信
From Dora Lin


Dear Barry:

我是Dora阿姨
第一次見到你是四年前在台南你外婆住處，觀看你們在Vancouver家中的生活記錄。螢幕中帥氣的小男孩在冬天的雪地裡玩中國功夫的畫面很深刻的停留在我的腦海裡。後來到Vancouver你家作客，才看到長大成人的你，果真遺傳了父母的智慧與氣質。你外婆每次提及你的貼心與用心，眼睛總是閃爍著光芒非常用心，也是多麼以你引以為傲。
當你確定要到Stanford唸研究所時，那是多麼光榮的事，但是你的父母親是如此的謙虛低調，我一時之間沒來得及以適當的方式為你慶賀，因此內心感到些許的歉疚。在與你外婆的對談中，我們都深信不久的將來。你將會功成名就而且找到理想的佳偶。到時候，我們非要好好的慶賀一番。
今年的六月與你父母skype時，你媽媽很高興地告訴我"兒子回來了?就是這麼簡單的愛，即使是短暫的停留，也會讓我們做父母的心滿意足。
沒想到這次我們竟是以這樣的方式得到你的訊息，唉!你覺得該如何撫慰你那痛失愛兒。因而嚐受肝腸寸斷，錐心刺骨之痛的雙親？我們深信你已經遠離人世間的苦難。天上的神明會引領你到西方極樂世界，但願你在天之靈能庇估親愛的家人，早日走出傷痛。我們在此也虔誠地為你禱告，祈福!

Dora 阿姨　敬拜

邦邦 一路好走

95年冬
 
二家八口人 擠在一個租來的地下室
 
沒有床 沒有書桌 只有新移民採購的一張餐桌
 
邦邦閒來沒事 常在餐桌上 舖好竹簾子 練習書法
 
一天，我在包壽司時，缺少捲緊壽司的工具
 
睛眼一瞄，看上邦邦桌上的竹簾子，我開玩笑的向邦借竹簾子
 
邦邦也立即的、爽快的說：不用借，就送給林媽媽
 
幸娥在旁笑著說：我們家邦邦本來可以成為書法家，借了簾子，不能成了書法家，你要負責...
 
孩子，15年來你借給林媽媽的竹簾子，我不僅還在用，而且現在我也是一個專業的壽司師傅
 
孩子，你振翅遠去，留下濃濃的思念。
 
雖然看到簾子，淚水不聽的滴下來，滿滿的思緒，滿滿的影像，一幕又接著一幕....
 
孩子，不要停，往前走，換個人，換個名，你還是永遠的蔡文邦
 
 
 
 
富美阿姨合十
 
 
 

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Hotmail 強大的垃圾信件管理功能，值得你信賴。 馬上註冊

attendance of Barry's memorial service

子国,幸娥:   你们的朋友振海,咏梅夫妇及两名子女伊涵,奕安共四人将参加Barry的追思会.   我们全家人怀着最深的敬意在内心拥抱你们,请上苍赐给你们力量,度过这人生中最艰难的时刻.   振海,咏梅,敬泣.

我認識的文邦

蔡文邦
 
認識文邦至少有二十年了....
記得他還小的時候，幸娥都會在週末時戴著文邦和妹妹一起去郊外，吃著媽媽做的涼麵，遊山玩水。
有一次，回家的路上，穿過狹小的山路，一旁是濃密的樹林，路旁有條小小的小溪，溪上幾隻鴨子緩慢的戲水著。
幸娥將車子徐徐的停在路旁，三個人興高彩烈的跑了出來，指著鴨子，高興的說：｢你看！你看！那就是鴨子。
我們也不明就理的停車和文邦他們一起欣賞鴨子戲水，心裡還在滴沽著：就是鴨子，有什麼好看的？
但是，小時候的文邦卻已能將百科全書所描敘的鴨子種類、習性，熟稔的向我們有條理的說明。
我們家的育全和書帆只是瞪大眼腈，崇拜聆聽文邦的解說，讓我們全家讚嘆不已！
 
文邦和育全年齡相若，文邦在高中時期就一如小時候一樣出類拔粹，不只在校成績名列前茅，校外的義工服務更熱忱
對於電腦的領略更比同儕深入，進入UBC順理成章的進入理工科系，也用很短的時間修完大學，申請美國著名大學深造
，文邦的認真進取、活潑熱忱永遠都是我們家孩子的模範生。
 
孩子
 
雖然你先離開我們，但你仍然要在你的世界上用鴨子精神繼續以優雅地、緩慢地、一絲不苟的勇敢向前行直到永恒
 
你的一生，都是我們永遠的懷念
 
孩子，加油，不要回頭，在一個不知的輪迥中，我們總會再見的
 
 
林良標敬泣
 
 
 
 

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Hotmail 信箱採用微軟資訊安全技術 現在就使用

From Fei-Fei Li

(As suggested by Barry's parents, I paste here my memorial service
speech of Barry on June 17, 2010.)

Memorial Speech for Barry Chai
Barry追思會發言稿

By Fei-Fei Li (李飛飛)
2010.06.17

My name is Fei-Fei Li. I am an assistant professor at the Computer
Science Dept at Stanford University. I have been Barry's academic and
research advisor for the past two years, first in Princeton (Fall
2008-Summer 2009), and then in Stanford.

我叫李飛飛，是史坦福大學計算機系的教授。我是Barry 過去兩年學業和科研上的
老師，先是在普林斯頓大學，然後是在史坦福大學。

As a professor, one of the pride and joy is to deliver a speech for my
students. While I am very proud of Barry, I have never imagined that the
first speech I give for him is a memorial speech. No words can express
my pain.

作為一個老師，談論和介紹我的學生是讓我很驕傲和高興的一件事情。作為Barry
的老師，我非常的為他自豪。但是我從來沒有想到我會在這樣的場合介紹Barry。
沒有語言和文字可以表達我的心痛。

Barry first contacted me on Aug 25, 2008, in answer to a job
advertisement. In fact it was a pre-advertisement that I sent to circle
of colleagues and friends in the field, looking for a research assistant
for an NIH-sponsored computational neuroscience project at Princeton.
This project is jointly PI-ed by Prof. Diane Beck at U. of Illinois. At
that time, Princeton hadn't yet approved the job. Barry was among the
very first students who contacted me. After simply reading his CV and
email, I knew I wanted him – if it were not legal reasons, I would no
longer need to waste the next two weeks for official job advertisement.
On Sept 1, a few days later, Barry and I had a phone interview. It was a
very pleasant conversation, Barry sounded extremely smart, earnest,
pleasant and well mannered. So I gave Barry the job offer on the phone
without any hesitation. After I put down the phone, I immediately called
Diane and told her how lucky we are to have got Barry!

So that night, I sent him a 25-page document to read as a background.
This is a lengthy and difficult document written by two professors. It
is for sure beyond Barry's knowledge. So I expected that he'll take a
good number of days or even weeks to finish reading the document. But to
my great surprise, the next day, at Vancouver time 11am, that was just a
little over half a day, Barry already replied me, saying that he had
finished reading the entire document, and he "(will) read a primer on
database this morning and I think I can pick this up fast. My primary
goal is to learn database well before I start on this project." Alas,
that was even before I started paying him! For the following two years,
Barry's dedication has never changed a single bit.

This is the Barry that I will always remember: extreme diligence, and
amazing work ethics.

Barry和我的第一次聯繫是通過一封電子郵件，時間是2008年8月25號。 Barry來信
申請我的實驗室的一份研究員的工作。這個項目是美國國家衛生局的一個科研項
目，由我和Illinois 大學Diane Beck教授共同主持。實際上那時候普林斯頓還沒
有正式批准這份工作，我只是在朋友和同事之間小規模的寄出一份工作廣告。
Barry 應該是頭幾個應試的學生。在看了Barry的簡歷之後，我就知道我想要聘請
他。如果不是法律的限制，我都不需要再通過普林斯頓正式打廣告了。 2008年9月
1號，我和Barry作了一次電話面試。在電話上，Barry聽起來非常聰明，認真，也
非常有利貌和教養。我在電話上正式把這份工作給了Barry。完了以後，我立即給
Diane 打了個電話，告訴她我們好幸運，能找到Barry這樣的學生。

9月1號的當天晚上，我給Barry寄了一分25頁長的項目背景材料。這是一份很生澀
的文件，是由兩個教授所寫的。對於Barry來說，這份材料遠遠超出了他的學業背
景。所以我在心裡想Barry可能會花上好幾天，甚至幾個星期的時間來讀完這個文
件。結果第二天溫哥華的中午11點，也就是半天以後，Barry竟然就給我回信了。
他告訴我他已經讀完了這份此材料，他已經開始"讀一些關於數據庫方面的東西。
（他的）的目標是在來普林斯頓上班之前就把這些基本的東西學會。"要知道，這
時候我還沒有給他發工資呢！在這之後的兩年裡，Barry的認真和敬業絲毫沒有改
變過。

我會一直這樣懷念Barry：無與倫比的認真和敬業精神。

When Barry came to Princeton in the beginning of Oct, 2008, I was
somewhat worried that as a young student just out of college, he didn't
have any friends or classmates to help him settling down in a new
country, a new town. But I was quickly proven wrong. Barry became
friends with everyone, from the lab members, to anyone around him,
instantaneously. Let me give you an example. Our lab, including Barry,
moved from Princeton to Stanford in June 2009. In September 2009, three
months after we left, I went back to Princeton for a quick trip. I
stopped by a quick lunch place near the computer science department at
Princeton called Tomo Sushi. Barry and my other student frequented that
restaurant often when they were in Princeton. This is the kind of
college-town take-out restaurant that has seen thousands of students
come and go. But when the owner connected the fact that I was Barry's
advisor and just moved my lab from Princeton to Stanford, she
immediately asked me how Barry was doing. It was clear to me that Barry
had made a real connection with her, just like he has made such
connections with so many people, no matter where he goes. This is
Barry, he radiated friendliness and kindness. That's why so many people
who have crossed path with him can remember him.

Barry是在2008年10月初來到普林斯頓的。他剛來的時候我很擔心他，畢竟他只是
一個本科剛剛畢業的小孩子，從加拿大來到一個陌生的國家，陌生的城鎮，沒有朋
友和同學。可是我很快發現我的擔心應該是多餘的。 Barry有能力和任何人成為朋
友，從實驗室，到身邊的所有人。讓我講一個小小的故事。我的實驗室在2009年6
月從普林斯頓搬到了史坦福。在2009年9月，我回到普林斯頓出差。我去了一個在
計算機系旁邊很小的外賣店買午餐。這個叫Tomo Sushi 的外賣店是Barry和我的實
驗室的學生們以前最喜歡的午餐點之一。當店裡的老闆娘聽說我就是把實驗室搬到
史坦福的老師以後，她立即問起我Barry好不好。很顯然，她是真心的喜歡和關心
Barry。不要忘了，這種大學城裡的小店，由成千上百的學生光顧，這位老闆娘不
知道見過多少學生和老師。但是Barry卻讓她記住了，就像很多很多其他記住他的
人。這也是Barry，他的身上散發著友好和善良，所以有那麼多人會記住他，懷念他。

When I talk about my students with my colleagues, I often refer to them
as "my kids". Of all of these kids, Barry is the one that is also always
at the edge. Christine, Barry's mother, and I were talking about this
last week. A phone call about Barry would come any time of day. I
remember a very early morning last year, I was in visiting my husband
Silvio in Michigan. The day before, Barry and I traveled together to
University of Illinois for a meeting. We departed at the Detroit
Airport, where Barry was supposed to come back to Princeton, and I
stayed for the weekend to visit Silvio. Around 6am, a lab member called
me because Christine was desperately looking for Barry. The Detroit
Airport police picked up Barry's passport on the airport floor, and
could not locate Barry. Through U.S. immigration and custom records,
they found Barry's home phone number in Canada and contacted Christine.
At that time, Barry was happily sleeping in a hotel near Detroit
airport, and his cellphone was discontinued by the carrier because he
forgot to pay his bill. This is also how I would remember Barry, still a
young kid full of adventure.

我在私底下和朋友們、同事們談論起我的學生們時，會稱他們叫"小孩子們"。在我
的所有的"孩子們"中，Barry是最讓我操心的。上個星期我和Barry的媽媽
Christine 談論起Barry。我們都說到那種不知道什麼時候就會收到一個關於Barry
的電話的感覺。我還記得大約一年前，我和Barry到Illinois 出差。會議結束後，
我們在底特律機場分手，他繼續轉道普林斯頓，我留在Michigan和我先生Silvio
度週末。第二天，星期六早上6點，我的電話響了。一個實驗室的同學打電話找
我，說Barry的媽媽急切的需要找到Barry。原來底特律機場的警察在地上撿到
Barry的護照，通過美國邊防和移民局打電話到Barry的加拿大的家裡。而這個時
候，Barry因為誤了飛機，正在底特律附近的一個賓館里高興的睡大覺。而他的手
機，因為忘記充值而被停機了。

我還會這樣懷念Barry：一個充滿了冒險精神，非常瀟灑的孩子。

I got to know Barry a lot better through an agonizing weekend we spent
together in April 2009. Barry was faced with a decision of choosing a
PhD program in another university versus coming to Stanford. Because
Barry performed so well as a RA in my lab, I personally recommended him
to a very good computer vision lab at another university. The professor
truly loved Barry. When Barry visited this university, the whole lab
spent a weekend with him and tried very hard to recruit Barry. Because
of the shift in notification time, Barry already accepted the offer from
this university when the Stanford acceptance notice came. This was when
Barry's agony started.

So here was Barry's agony: deep in his heart, he would like to come to
Stanford. Now that I got to know the family better, I realized that
Stanford was the first stop for Barry when he came to North America as a
very young child. It was a dream of his own as well as his family. But
he felt extremely guilty and bad for the other university. Barry spent
the entire 3-day weekend with me talking about this over and over again.
At several points, he was ready to go to this university just because he
felt bad for breaking the promise. I was in a dilemma too: As a
professor, I understand how badly the other university wanted Barry – I
recommended him personally to this lab; but as Barry's advisor, I could
see that coming to Stanford was the choice of his heart. It was a tricky
situation. While Barry had to make the ultimate decision one way or the
other, I told him if he were to decide to change his decision and
retract the other school's acceptance, I would do everything I could to
help him explain the situation.

Barry finally made the decision to withdraw the acceptance from the
other university and come to Stanford. I was very happy for him. But
what impressed me in this process was not so much his ultimate decision
of following his heart, but how much time and energy he spent to
consider the other people's feelings. As a young man at 24 years old,
embarking on a very bright and promising future, many his age would
probably have made the decision without a blink. But Barry is different.
He is not only a fun-loving, hard-working student, his sense of
responsibility, his kindness in regard of other people's feeling and his
moral characters really impressed me.

我在2009年的4月通過一個機會更了解了Barry。那是一個記憶中很漫長的周末，
Barry面對了一個很艱難的決定：到底是到另一所大學讀博士還是到史坦福來讀碩
士。由於Barry在我實驗室出色的表現，我在他申請學校的過程中幫他在這所大學
聯繫了一個很出色的計算機視覺實驗室。那個實驗室的老師非常器重Barry。他們
還邀請Barry去那裡參觀過一個週末。但是由於時間的差異，就在Barry已經口頭接
受了這所大學的offer後，史坦福大學的錄取書才到。這讓Barry非常糾結。

從內心深處，Barry非常喜歡史坦福。前幾天通過認識Barry的家人我才了解到，
Palo Alto 是Barry 很多年前到北美來的第一座城市。能來這裡讀書是他自己，也
是他家人的一個夢。但是Barry對這另一所大學感到非常內疚。我和他花了整整三
天的時間談論這件事。有好幾次，Barry 都幾乎決定因為他對這所大學的承諾而決
定放棄史坦福大學了。作為老師，我也很糾結。在申請過程中，我是一個人名義專
門推薦他去這所大學的；但是作為Barry的老師，我能看出他心裡更希望去史坦
福。這個決定最終只能由Barry來做，但是我告訴他，如果他決定去史坦福，我會
盡我的最大努力幫助他去解釋這件事的。

Barry最後決定選擇史坦福。我非常為他高興。但是讓我欣賞的不是他最後的選
擇，而是這個抉擇過程中Barry的態度。 Barry反反复復得站在對方的角度考慮這
件事。對於一個24歲的年輕人，面對未來的事業和憧憬，沒有多少孩子會花那麼多
時間去考慮別人的感受。但是Barry不一樣。我意識到，這不僅僅是一個有趣、愛
玩兒、工作努力的學生。他有責任心，有替他人著想的善良和讓人折服的道德觀。

Because of a delayed flight from Chicago to Urbana, Illinois, Barry and
I had a very memorable conversation being stuck on the airplane. Barry
talked to me at length of his dreams and goals, how he would like to
make an impact in robotic and vision research, how he would like to
travel around the world, and even girls. But most importantly, he talked
about how much he loved his family.

Christine and Ted, I know that as parents, you do not often hear
directly from your child how much he loves you. A 24, 25 years old young
man would not say this directly, especially if he comes from a Chinese
culture. But that flight from Chicago and Urbana Champaign, through
Barry's stories, I came to know how much influence each of you have had
to Barry. It finally all made sense to me. Barry's unique characters,
his adventureness, his moral strength, his kindness, his generosity, his
passion, his diligence and his unique Barry-ness, are a result of an
incredible pair of parents. On behalf of Barry, I would like to tell
Christine and Ted: Barry truly loved you, loved his sister, and loved
his entire family.

在一次去Illinois 開會的路上，我和Barry的飛機晚點了，讓我們有機會坐在飛機
上天南海北的閒聊。我們談起他的理想，他對機器人和視覺研究的興趣，他想周遊
世界的夢想，甚至女孩子。但是最重要的，我們談起了他的家庭。

Christine 和Ted，我知道作為父母，你們沒有機會經常從自己的孩子嘴裡聽到他
愛你們的話。一個２４、２５歲的年輕男孩子，尤其是我們中國人，一般是不會這
樣直接的。但是通過這場飛機上的談話，通過Barry的故事，我了解到這個家庭對
他的成長有多麼深的影響。我以前經常想，Barry這麼一個特別的孩子是怎樣造就
的。現在我知道，Barry的瀟灑，他的正義，他的善良，他的寬容，他對生活的熱
愛，他的努力、認真和敬業精神，是因為他有你這樣的父母。我想代表Barry 告訴
他的爸爸媽媽：Barry非常的愛你們，愛他的妹妹，和他的大家族。

The fateful car accident took place on June 8, only 5 days after a major
paper conference deadline on June 3. If Barry's paper is accepted, he
will be presenting this work in Vancouver this year. Barry worked very
hard for this deadline. My last memory of him is still the overnight
hours between June 2 and June 3. Barry and I went over his papers and
experiments many iterations together. He and I would take turns to rest,
but the paper continued to improve in quality. This was the first
computer vision project Barry led. He poured his heart and soul into
this. He worked extremely hard. After the paper was submitted, Barry was
radiating with joy and pride. I was actually hoping to talk to Barry
after some break about where we are going with the future project. There
were so many ideas that we could try out. It was very exciting for both
him and me.

My students, including Barry, and I often talk about life and work. We
always talk about how one should love what he or she is doing. Then even
the sacrifices and pain become part of the fun and joy. This is my last
memory of Barry: a young man full of life, full of passion, and doing
what he loved!

奪走Barry生命那場車禍發生在６月８號，僅近距離我們剛剛過去的一個論文
deadline　五天。如果Barry的論文被大會接受，他會在今年１２月回到溫哥華宣
讀論文。 Barry為這個工作非常努力的工作了很久。我還記得我們在６月２號那一
夜全體實驗室的熬夜。 Barry和我輪流著修改他的論文，這樣另一個人可以短短的
休息一會兒。這是Barry作為第一作者所作的第一篇計算機視覺的論文。當我們交
稿以後，我能看到他的自豪和快樂。就在前兩天，Barry出事之前，我還想過等他
休息一段時間後，和Barry談一談我們下一步的很多打算。
我和學生們，包括Barry，經常聊天說起生活和工作。我一直相信一個人應該選擇
作他自己熱愛的工作，這樣的話即使是艱難困苦和犧牲都會覺得是值得的。讓我感
到欣慰的是，我對Barry最後的記憶，是他生命最綻放，最有激情，做著自己熱愛
的事情的記憶。

Ten years ago, I lived and worked in Tibet by myself after college. I
had the chance to get to know Buddhism. Today, I want to share with you
that I do believe in cycles of life. I believe that each of us will meet
Barry again in our own ways. Even in this life, Barry's life has touched
many of us in such a joyful and inspiring way. As Barry's teacher for
the last two years, I want to thank you, Christine and Ted, for bringing
Barry to this world, such that I have had the fortune to work with him
and be his teacher and friend. Thank you!

十年前，我在大學畢業後隻身到西藏生活和工作了一年。在那裡，我接觸到很多佛
教的理念。我想我是相信生命的輪迴的。我相信我們每一個人都會以自己的方式和
Barry重逢。就是在今生，Barry也給了我們很多美好的回憶和inspiration。作為
Barry過去兩年的老師，我要感謝你們，Christine and Ted,　感謝你們培養了
Barry，讓我有機會能成為他的老師和朋友。謝謝！

From Xiaodong Li

Barry and I are roommates for the whole past academic year, which is the first one for both him and me. In these days, what I think first when I wake up in the morning, is Barry's gone. I always recall the happy days when we were together.

I still remembered his first impression: friendly, enthusiastic and cheerful. He was always good to others, and I never saw he was sad, angry or anxious. When he would like to have a meal and if I was also at home, he usually asked me to go together. Sometimes I accepted his invitations, but I also refused much. However, when I would like to have a chat with him, he never refused me. Once I asked him to play badminton together. He was very busy those days, but he still said, "OK, just for an hour." In his opinion, friendship is very important.

He was very positive, but in a natural way. He liked engineering, because he was very excited about it. He put papers everywhere in his room, and I usually saw him reading papers in bed, or thinking about ideas while pacing around. He submitted a paper to a conference not long ago, on which day he worked all-night. Also, he was going to do a consulting work for a company this summer. Every time he got an achievement, he would like to share his happiness with his friends. He was really a sincere man.

When I came back from LA last winter break, we had a lot of fun together. We went to San Francisco, played basketball and tennis, and hold parties to play cards together. People were always affected by his cheerful disposition, and became very happy. He had planed to ski every two weeks last winter quarter, but he barely went because he was very busy in the following two quarters. We had some plans for the future: to play tennis and basketball, to ride bikes in San Francisco, and even to write a paper together. They cannot be performed, and it will be my lifelong regret.

I have already regarded him as my best friend, and I told him everything about myself. He was a pure and mature guy, and helped me a lot when I was worried or upset. Every time we chatted, we would tell jokes, or even had jokes on each other. We often talked for a long time, about TV series, music, diet, academy, past, future, values and so on. Sometimes we argued, but very happily. Once we watched a movie online in his room, we chatted and laughed and did not notice that the movie was not the one we wanted to watch. On Sunday before he passed away, we chatted for two hours even we both had finals to prepare, and he told me he thought we were similar to each other. I replied it was because we had a lot in common.

He was very excited and happy since the beginning of this month. The last day before he went to LA, he even came to my room to check in the mirror whether the shoes and jean matched. We both thought the leather shoes were too formal, and he changed to wear a pair of travel shoes. I expected very much what a wonderful and cheerful summer he would have. When I heard the grievous news last Wednesday, I could not accept it at all.

However, I know Barry spent a fantastic life. He lived a frugal life but was very rich in mind and friendship. He will be missed and remembered deeply in my whole life.

From Bangpeng Yao (姚邦鵬)

在文邦離開的前一天晚上，他來到了系裡。當時是11點鐘左右，他想借我的電話打給附近的一家店看他們是否還開著，以便買點東西為第二天去LA的旅行做準備。當他來到我的辦公室的時候，看到我正忙著一些事情，就問我有沒有什麽需要幫忙的。我告訴他我想掃描一些東西，但我不知道系裡的掃描儀在哪裡，也不會用。於是文邦就主動領著我在系裡找到了掃描儀，並且教會了我如何使用它。雖然前後二十分鐘不到的時間，但文邦全然沒有考慮這二十分鐘會不會導致他趕不上那家店關門的時間。並且，在這二十分鐘裏面，我們互相開對方的玩笑。比如，他開玩笑說我能夠發表科學論文，卻不會使用掃描儀，等等。

文邦就是這樣的一個人。在任何時候，都會主動、熱心地為別人提供幫助，並且很風趣、幽默。他走到哪裡，就能把幽默、陽光、寬容帶到哪裡。可能文邦這輩子做的唯一的一件很"自私"的事情就是沒有向我們告別就選擇了離開，留給了我們無限的哀傷。

文邦的生命雖然短暫，卻比絕大多數人都充實、有意義。中國有句古語，"朝聞道，夕可死"。意思是說如果一個人在早上明白了真理，那麼即使他在晚上就死去，也是沒有遺憾的。文邦雖然很早就離開了我們，但他是那樣一個陽光、大度、上進的人，他已經領會了生命裏面最寶貴的東西。文邦留給我們的遺產，值得我們用一生去回憶、去學習。作為一個人，文邦已經比大部分人成功了，即使那些人能夠長命百歲。

其實到現在，我還是不能接受我再也看不到文邦了。記得我們知道這個消息之後的第二天，學校有一些人來為我們做心理輔導。我當時問道，"文邦是如此好的一個人，爲什麽這麼遺憾的事情會發生在他的身上？"當時一個人說，文邦走得很早，是因為他已經為我們這個世界留下了足夠多的美好的回憶。現在，另外一個世界需要他做同樣的事情，他現在一定在另外的一個世界里，快樂的生活著，給那個世界帶去陽光、帶去寬容吧。

文邦，我很想念你。來世再見。

- 姚邦鵬

From Vidhya Navalpakkam

Barry, you were a nice and warm guy, always smiling. I will fondly cherish the many light moments that we shared -- the most memorable of which was when you taught me how to play ping pong. Wish you could still be here with us...

From Dirk Bernhardt-Walther

Working with Barry on a joint project was a fun and very intense
experience. There was never a shortage of new ideas and enthusiasm to
try them all out, even if it was only a few hours before the paper
deadline. Sometimes it was a challenge to channel all these bursts of
creativity into a coherent story for the paper. But Barry's
brainstorms were always an enrichment! Functional Connectivity through
Mutual Information - it could have been the motto for our whole
collaboration!

As a reward for the hard work we got to go to NIPS 2010 in Vancouver.
Being the foodie that he was, Barry introduced me to Japanese Tapas
and showed me a good time in this wonderful city that he so loved.

It's a shame, Barry, that you had to go so early. I would have loved
to see that great imagination and creativity of ours at work for many
more decades.

Take care

Dirk

=================================
Dirk Bernhardt-Walther, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/walther/www

From Ana Torralbo

From Ana Torralbo

I met Barry when we both started to work on the scene categorization research project involving different universities. Since the beginning of our work together, we communicated through skype, chat, email and sometimes in person. Work was very intense, and Barry was always there to help with his ideas, his skills, and his kindness. I remember having long chat conversations about our scene pictures, our ratings, our deadlines.. It was a pleasure working with him.  

Originally I am from Spain. Barry told me some time ago that he was planning a trip to Spain with his family during Christmas 2009. I gave him some suggestions about places to visit, food to eat etc. He said he was trying to learn some sentences in Spanish like "tu eres hermosa", something like "you are very pretty". He told me he enjoyed food, architecture, people outside in the street celebrating New Year's Eve in Madrid. He was curious about why in some bars there are pig legs hanging from the ceiling! This is the cured ham we love so much over there; although I know that the image looks a bit strange. He liked Toledo Cathedral. He said it was the largest Cathedral he had ever seen.

Barry was so young and alive, and full of energy. He was a very promising researcher and had a bright future ahead. It is very sad that he is not here any more. I would like to give all my support to his family. He will be missed, and remembered as a great person who left his trace where he went. Rest in peace.

 

Diane Beck (U of Illinois)

My first introduction to Barry was over email and on the phone.  He started working for our project back when Fei-Fei was still at Princeton.  He seemed eager, bright and pleasant to work with.  When he found out that Fei-Fei and I were cat lovers he sent us pictures of his cat Jane.  I needed no more convincing, I knew then that I was going to like this guy.  :-) And indeed, when I finally met Barry in person, a little over a month later, I liked him even more.   I was immediately struck by his affability—his ready smile, his genuine interest in whomever he was talking to, and his easy going style.  He was an absolute pleasure to be around.  I cannot imagine that anyone could meet Barry and not immediately like him. Barry's charm was not his only asset, he was also a valuable and valued member of our research team. He worked tirelessly and quickly, and was offering solutions and actively participating in our brain storming sessions soon after starting with us.  He was instrumental in bringing our project to where it is today. Fei-Fei and I were both very impressed and we felt very lucky to have him join our research team.

 

I now feel very lucky to have even known Barry. His time on this earth was so short, and I was one of the lucky few whose life was made brighter by knowing him. I will miss him dearly, and my heart goes out to those at Stanford who interacted with him on a daily basis.  I know his absence will be felt deeply.  To Barry's parents, I cannot imagine your grief.  It is tragic that someone with so much life and so much promise should be taken so young.  I hope you will find some comfort in the happiness Barry brought to all those who knew him.

 

Barry, you will be dearly missed.

From Eamon Caddigan

Barry was smart, funny, and kind. For some time, he and I were the
sole graduate students involved in multi-institutional research
project. Working from different parts of the country, we communicated
by phone and e-mail most of the time I'd known him. Whenever we met in
person, however, it was like seeing an old friend.

Barry, your patient and gentle manner came through whether you were
coaching me in table tennis or working on code. Your joie de vivre
ensured that we would enjoy ourselves -- and eat good food -- in spite
of tight timelines and long lists of things to do.

I was certain that Barry would go on to become one of the most
successful people I knew. There's no way so bright and enthusiastic a
person could not affect the lives of all who had a chance to meet him.
In Barry's case, those so affected span the globe.

Barry, I'm going to miss you. Please remember that your time here made
an important difference, and that we are all lucky to know you.

From Ruoting

Dear Barry,

 

I am still in shock of the news.  When I looked at your pictures, you seemed to be still here with us.  I will miss you always.  Please rest in peace, Barry.

 

 

Ruoting

From Ning (Tony) Dong @ Athens, Greece

Dear Barry,

 

Do you remember how you made me go to see Avatar in San Francisco after Christmas? I had to fly back to China in three days yet you told me the movie was not to be missed. I still had a lot to deal with before leaving and you offered to take care of everything I could not finish. You even offered to help me pack when you saw how lousy I was in packing. I was, am and will always be happy to have made it with you and other friends – it was one of the best days I ever spent in San Francisco.

 

Do you remember last Christmas Eve? You told me that you don't do Christmas much but in a gesture to celebrate the upcoming year, we should clean up our house – a house of three bachelors without major cleaning for at least two months. Man that was a lot of heavy-vacuuming and serious scrubbing. But after the cleaning, I felt everything lighten up and we were finally able to invite friends to our place without embarrassment.

 

Do you remember how you taught me coding in Visual C#? Right after last fall quarter, you spent at least one hour a day to answer my questions and search for solutions. Sometimes I could not find the best solution and wanted to settle for the second-best yet you always come up with something better after a brief period of reflection. Do you know that I am still using similar GUI you helped me design for my prototype system validation?

 

Do you remember how much fun we had in tennis, ping pong, and badminton? Unfortunately, the last time we played badminton, your eye got injured. Remember neither of us had ever been to the Stanford emergency room and how you told me to take it easy while driving when I started to lose it? Remember while waiting in the emergency room you were still telling jokes? I wish I will have that level of control over my nerves some day.

 

Do you remember "San Guo Sha", a sophisticated Chinese version of the mafia role-play game I introduced to you? You love that game. Yet you were not very good in playing the bad guys. I guess you were too honest and sincere in your whole life to play those characters. I hope somehow you improved your acting skill over the past five months while I was absent.

 

Do you still remember the pact you, Xiaodong and I made to continue to be roommates when I come back to Stanford this September? How are we supposed to find a better roommate?

 

We have to accept that you are gone and we believe that you are now in a better place. Yet the influence and imprint you left to your friends and family will live on forever. I deeply regret not being able to be there to provide support for your family or make it to your memorial service. However, I will always remember you as a witty, caring and passionate friend, a serious teacher and scholar who constantly aims for perfectionism, and a wonderful roommate by any standard.

 

Truly yours,

 

Ning (Tony) Dong

 

From Neil

As an engineering student, you were blessed with strength and creativity.

As a jogging and hiking partner, though I couldn’t keep up with your pace, you were always waiting ahead of me patiently and cheerfully.

As a friend, you have helped me more than I could have helped you.

The news saddens me. As many scientists and engineers, we shared the same dream. I thought, together, we were going bring it closer to the reality. I assure you; you will be remembered, and the image of you will continue to give me strength and inspire me for the greater.

Until then,I’ll miss you. Rest in peace, Barry.

From Fei-Fei Li

Barry,
This is a quick message -- I will write longer after CVPR2010. Every
student of a professor is like a child to him/her. In Chinese, we have
the ancient saying "一日为师，终身为父". The loss of you is still too
unexpected and too painful.

Rest in peace.

Fei-Fei Li, Stanford University
(Barry's advisor/professor)

From Bluepixel

(Originally posted at Rest in Peace Barry Chai)

My mother told me once, anyone who tastes birth must taste death. We might not like it, but it will catch up to us and there is no running away from it.

I met Barry Chai in my 3rd year right after my last internship at Research in Motion. He had taken over the post as the McNaughton Chair and we were making plans in the first month on upgrading our office and designing the Matlab workshops. I saw right away that Barry was the most nicest and optimistic person I had ever met. To boot on top of it, you could tell he was incredibly intelligent and had a bright future ahead of him.

I remember chatting with him about my final term project on American Sign Language Scholar and how using the OpenCV library helped us finish the project on time and budget. I told him about some of the basic tools it offered and he spent that summer working with a Professor in computer vision at UBC. This lead him to Princeton where he did some research work with Prof. Fei-Fei Li and now a student at Stanford.

Bright, happy, optimistic, humble and always willing to lend a helping hand and never questioning or judging anyone. That’s the Barry Chai people knew and those that met him were very fortunate.

24 years old. So young and so full of potential. It is sad to hear a friend go so soon in life and it makes you realize that life is that much more precious and we should take in the moments, cherish them, because you never know that they might be your last with them.

You will be missed Barry Chai! I still cannot believe you are no longer there for our late night Gmail/Skype chats discussing about your classes, our interviews with Apple, Google and Microsoft and etc. My prayers are with you and your family.