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Energetic. Compassionate. Friendly. All descriptions of the type of person Hormozd Gahvari was on a daily basis. "Mozd" as he was known, left a huge impression on each and every person he crossed paths with. At Uni he could be found enthusiastically cheering his classmates at any and all types of events. He participated in Latin, led the football club, and was a stalwart member of the cross-country and track teams, all the while always working on his 3-point shot. While naturally brilliant and gifted with computers those around him knew he would be successful in whatever field he chose. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in 2003 and a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006, both in Computer Science. While Hormozd enjoyed his time on the west coast, his family and passions for the Illini brought him back and he earned his Ph. D. from the University of Illinois in 2014. (see photo above)
According to an article written in The Independent about him, "He began working at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as a summer intern in 2010, gaining a reputation as a brilliant computer scientist who was able to quickly master new research topics, form bridges between disciplines, and come up with creative solutions to difficult problems. In 2014, Gahvari was selected as the first Sidney Fernbach Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Applied Scientific Computing at LLNL, a position he started with energy and ambition."
Sadly Hormozd's personal journey did not continue for decades to enrich more lives. He developed a rare and vicious strand of cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma – an aggressive form of bone cancer primarily found in adolescents. The cancer treatments involved the amputation of his left leg followed by many bouts of chemotherapy and radiation. For four years he would battle this disease, all the while remaining a kid at heart, marrying his love Ashley Medina and being able to be there when his daughter Shayda was born. Hormozd continued his research through the last week of his life, passing away at the age of 34, three months after Shayda’s birth.
We miss you Mozd!!
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