Dear DRI Colleagues,

I was shocked to learn this morning that former DRI President Dr. James V. Taranik died on Tuesday. I do not know the circumstances, but I want to express my heartfelt condolences to Jim's wife Colleen and his family, from everyone at DRI, my wife Beth and me.

Jim became President of DRI in 1987. He was internationally known for his research in aerospace remote sensing, and his professional career had already included senior positions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Iowa Geological Survey, and the University of Iowa. In 1981, he was the chief mission scientist on Space Shuttle Columbia's second flight - the first flight with a science payload.

DRI President Dr. James V. TaranikPrior to joining DRI, Taranik served as the Dean of the University of Nevada, Reno Mackay School of Mines, where he helped raise $28 million, which paid for the Laxalt Mineral Research Building and earthquake retrofitting of the historic Mackay School of Mines building and library. He received his Bachelor's in Geology from Stanford University and his Doctorate in Geology from the Colorado School of Mines. At Stanford, he earned a varsity letter in water polo and also sought an ROTC commission with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As President of DRI, Taranik greatly increased the institute's capability for employing sophisticated satellite imagery across many areas of research. He remained directly involved in the improvement of remote sensing for environmental applications and geological exploration. In 1994, he was on the team that prepared radar equipment that recorded some 25 million square miles of images from the space shuttle Endeavor. He also served on a national blue-ribbon panel seeking to declassify remote sensing technologies for use in environmental research.

Administratively, Taranik instituted DRI's strategic and budgetary planning processes that helped define the institute's mission both internally and externally. He also reorganized the DRI Research Foundation, created DRI Research Parks, LTD., and established a long-range facilities plan that led to the construction of nearly 150,000 square feet of new facilities for DRI, including the Dorothy Gallagher Great Basin Environmental Research Laboratory, the Southern Nevada Science Center, and the Northern Nevada Science Center expansion.

In 1998, Taranik left DRI to assume the Arthur Brant Chair in Exploration Geophysics at the Mackay School of Mines. He was set to retire from the university after 29 years of service to the Nevada System of Higher Education on June 30.

Jim was DRI's President when I arrived at DRI and continued to be a good friend and supporter of the institute. Those of us who were privileged to work with him knew him to be a deep thinker and a caring individual. DRI and the university have lost an important figure who inspired countless researchers and students to greater heights and international recognition. Jim set a new standard as President of DRI and it has been wonderful in recent months to have him back on our campus as a Regents Professor in the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences. While today I am saddened because he still had so much left to give in his area of expertise in remote sensing and economic geology, he will not be soon forgotten for the many research accomplishments in his distinguished career.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made in Dr. Taranik's name to the DRI Foundation, on-line at www.dri.edu/foundation or via mail to 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89512.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stephen Wells
DRI

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