The body of University of Chicago student Nicholas Barnes, 20, was found after students noticed a foul odor coming from his dorm room.

Authorities speculate he may have been dead for as long as a week. The school newspaper offered this front-page memorial:

Nicholas Barnes, a third-year in the College, was found dead in his dorm room in International House Saturday afternoon. He was 20 years old.

An autopsy took place this past Sunday, but the cause of death remains unknown, though early results show no sign of foul play or suicide. Full toxicology results may not be available for another four to six weeks, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Barnes, who grew up in Pittsburgh, originally lived in Halperin House of South Campus. He moved to Booth House in winter 2013 following his studies abroad in Vienna in fall 2012.

Fourth-year Andrew Burchill studied abroad with Barnes.

“He was like a puppy. He was always excited to meet you. Nothing about him was mean. He was like a hyper-intelligent puppy,” he said.

Burchill said Barnes had many intellectual interests. He liked going to Doc Films, especially the films of Werner Herzog, and liked playing around with Google Maps.

“Nick loved Google Maps Maker. Since he came to campus he made about 1000–2000 edits. His favorite pastime was going in there and updating Google Maps,” Burchill said.

Michael Geyer, a professor of German and European History who advised Barnes on his B.A. thesis, remembers him as “amazingly mature for an undergraduate” and as “one of the people who could end up eventually as a very good professor.”

“There was something special about him, a sense of how to ask questions, a sense of how to pursue questions then to a conclusion, which is quite precious at all levels, undergraduate, graduate, and professional. There are many in all three categories who don’t have that particular knack,” he said.

Just two weeks ago, Geyer wrote a recommendation for Barnes to support his flight, travel, and lodging in Germany. “It was one of my more exuberant recommendations because I was genuinely impressed by him as a very unusually intelligent, mature, and qualified student,” Geyer said.