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(RNS) — Patrick Stewart will be remembered for many contributions, but for us, he will always occupy an outsized role in our imagination as the U.S.S. Enterprise ‘s Captain Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” We aren’t alone. Robin George Andrews, writing in the New York Times, observed how Stewart’s Picard influenced a generation of astronomers, encouraging them to explore (in the words of “The Next Generation’s” intro) “space, the final frontier.” At Nature News , reporter Mohana Basu makes a similar point. Stewart’s Picard exemplified the traits of a scientific leader: committed to considering an issue from many angles; willing to consult to any crew member’s perspective (regardless of rank); open to outside-the-box thinking.

But not only has the general scientific community been influenced by Stewart’s Picard.…