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Dr. Peter Fox
Photo and Denise Hills quote and used with permission from https://www.rd-alliance.org/remembering-dr-peter-fox-titan-earth-science-informatics-community-former-rda-tab-member.
It is with great personal sadness that we report the death of Dr. Peter Fox on March 27, 2021. This is one of the many tributes to him, acknowledging and highlighting his influence and impact in the Earth and space science informatics (ESSI) and wider data communities. We want to express our deepest condolences to his partner, Erica Veil, his family, and his colleagues at RPI Tetherless World Constellation (TWC) including his current and past research group members and all of his collaborators.
Peter brought communities together, as is shown by the large number of organizations that came together to write a tribute to him (https://www.rd-alliance.org/remembering-dr-peter-fox-titan-earth-science-informatics-community-former-rda-tab-member). These include the AGU Earth and Space Science Informatics (AGU ESSI) section, the EGU Earth and Space Science Informatics division (EGU ESSI), the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP), the Australian Earth and Environmental Science Information Partners (E2SIP), the Geological Society of America Geoinformatics and Data Science division, the Research Data Alliance (RDA), and CODATA and are all organizations that Peter founded or championed during his incredible career.
Peter touched many lives and achieved a great many things during his career, including receiving the Martha Maiden Lifetime Achievement Award from ESIP in 2012, which honored his demonstrated leadership, dedication, and collaborative spirit in advancing the field of Earth science information. Also in 2012, he received the Ian McHarg Medal for his role in establishing informatics as a genuine discipline within the Earth sciences. He was a member of the first RDA Technical Advisory Board (TAB) from 2013 to 2016, and instrumental in setting up and driving the RDA in its early years. He was elected as AGU ESSI’s first AGU Fellow in 2018. He was also recognized during 2018 by AAAS as an elected fellow in recognition of his extraordinary achievements in advancing science.
In Peter’s passing, we all have lost a friend, mentor, and great leader. Collected below are some tributes from his friends, colleagues, and collaborators.
Xiaogang (Marshall) Ma, Department of Computer Science, University of Idaho
“In the evening of March 27, 2021, colleagues at RPI sent the heartbreaking message that Peter passed away. For a moment the air was frozen, and it was simply hard for me to take the message. I believe I am among many people who have been enlightened by Peter’s kindness, friendship, and wisdom. I first met Peter in 2010 at the EGU assembly, and less than one month later we met again at a workshop in Berlin, where we realized we must share some common interests in geoinformatics. I was struggling with my PhD work at that moment, and Peter helped suggest several colleagues at Europe to connect and research projects to observe. Between 2012 and 2016, Peter set up a postdoctoral position for me at RPI, showed me the landscape of geoinformatics at the cutting edge, and demonstrated how to work efficiently. ‘If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space’ is the motto that he often mentioned. Chinese scholars take kindness, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and loyalty as the five highest principles for life. Peter is not Chinese, but he has showed me, and many others, how to be a good person with those principles. Rest in peace, Peter. You will be deeply missed.”
Denise Hills, ESIP Vice President, AGU ESSI Immediate Past President, GSA GIDS Past Chair
“Peter was kind, generous, and supportive yet didn’t take any nonsense from anyone about anything. This includes any nonsense you may have believed about yourself. He has believed in me when I did not and, more amazing to me, convinced me to believe in myself. My professional and personal life would look very different, and very much less enriched, without his influence.”
J.-F. de La Beaujardiere, PhD, Director, NCAR/CISL Information Systems Division
“Peter's death is a huge loss to the global informatics community. For me personally he was a colleague, a mentor, and a friend. His passing at a relatively young age is a reminder to live life fully for we know not how long we have left to us.”
Helen Glaves, British Geological Survey, President of EGU
“I don't quite remember when I first met Peter, but I will remember the day when I heard the shocking news of his passing.
“Peter was instrumental in geoinformatics being recognized as a discipline within Earth and space science. His legacy is remarkable and will continue to be widely acknowledged by the informatics community around the world.
“But Peter was not only a brilliant researcher, he was also a mentor, advocate, and a friend to so many. His calm and considered attitude meant he was well liked and hugely respected by everyone who knew him. His absence will be felt in so many places.
“Rest in peace my friend.”
Sarah Callaghan, Editor-in-Chief, Patterns
“Peter was a colleague and a friend. The last time I saw him was at the ESSI reception at AGU in December 2019, where we were both exchanging notes about the joys and challenges of being editor-in-chief of an academic journal. Peter was clever, witty, and supportive, and I will very much miss his wisdom and clarity of thought. His work on data publication was a great influence on me and my career, and I’m so very honored to have known, worked, and appeared on conference panels with him. I send my deepest sorrow and sympathy to his partner, family, friends, and colleagues at this time. He will be remembered for the powerful, wise influence he was.”
This short tribute covers just a tiny part of Peter’s impact. There is a Kudoboard (https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/vRCwxvmK) memorial available to capture our memories and show how deep and important a legacy Peter leaves.