Bloomington in 2007 was the first time I attended a Aging and Speech Communication (ASC) conference. It was my first visit to Bloomington and my presentation was the first of the entire conference, as it was part of the keynote lecture given by Prof. Tammo Houtgast in the evening before the official opening. The discussion following the lecture was tough.. …very tough…. (at the end of the three days, I learned that this had just been one of the usual type of discussions at an ASC conference, but at that moment I felt pretty miserable..). It was during the poster session the day after that lecture that somebody came to talk to me. I didn’t know this person, but his friendly words, his encouraging comments, the fact that he shared his own experiences with me and his sincere interest in my work couldn’t have come at a better moment. It was an unforgettable meeting. Later that day, I learned that the person I had spoken to was Arthur Wingfield, of all people!!
Art made an unforgettable impression on me then and throughout the years that followed. It is not only his surprisingly great sense of empathy that impressed me. His genuine interest in other people’s work, his integrity, his ability to encourage and inspire others, his scientific insights and thinking and the long list of influential papers he (co)authored made me realize that Arthur Wingfield is a unique person. I don’t know many researchers with all these qualities in one person. Arthur Wingfield is just one a kind. He is one of the best scientists I know. I thank Art for all his great work and invaluable contributions to our field so far. I am wishing him all the best and I sincerely hope that Art will stay around and active in our field for many many more years.