Dear Ali,

I still cannot believe you’re not among us anymore. You’re one the best friends I’ve ever had. We had a lot of good memories, going all the way back to 2013. You will be missed. I’ve never heard anyone complaining about you. That, by itself, is a testimony to your kind heart and beautiful soul.

Rest in peace my friend, Ali jan!

Ali was a dear friend and colleague. He was quiet but once you get to know him, you appreciate how gentle and caring he is. He is still the fastest prototyper I know of. He was very focused and cared deeply about the problems he was solving. These technical discussions were the only times he would get chatty. Ali was full of potential. I can't believe we are speaking of him in past-tense. 

A memory of him that I'll carry with me: Ali was my intern in 2021 and we visited a far away farm for testing his device. I was very jealous that the farm cat ignored me and kept going to him. He joked that the cat knew who was nice. He loved being there in the open fields.

You will be missed, Ali.

My heart is heavy.

I have flashes of all the moments that I spent with Ali and I cannot focus on one. I met him at UW when we were studying our graduate studies. He was calm, shy and very polite. It wasn't easy for me to connect with him at first. But days passed and we became friends.

He would have come to my office, with a big smile, then we would go for a walk and get some tea. We talk, laugh, tease each other. And this repeats everyday…

As I’m writing this, miles away from you Ali jan, I cannot believe you’re no longer with us. To me, you’re always in Wedgwood and one call away to meet at GreenLake.