Jim Arvo was a unique collaborator for us, with a brilliant mind, deep insights and always up for an intellectual challenge. We will miss the stimulating conversations and miss being able to finish the work we started together. But most of all, we will miss Jim.

For the past three years, Disney has been running a network of research labs in Zurich, Pittsburgh and Boston under the banner of Disney Research. The locations were chosen so that they could attract the brightest scientists from top institutions...