**
*Dear Unidata Community,*
*
It is with great sadness that we convey the news that Jeff de La
Beaujardière passed away on November 16, 2023 after a months-long battle
with ALS. Many in the Unidata community are familiar with Jeff’s
substantial contributions to the field of geospatial information and
Earth Systems sciences; his work, particularly focused on the management
of data repositories containing vital climate and Earth observation
data, advanced the accessibility and interoperability of scientific
data. Jeff served on Unidata’s Strategic Advisory Committee (SAC) as a
NOAA agency representative for several years before joining NCAR’s
Computational and Information Systems Lab (CISL), when he became an NCAR
representative to the SAC.
We at Unidata are extremely saddened by this loss of a close colleague.
We will not only miss him as a collegial collaborator but also his
insights and thoughtful input to our governance. A memorial Kudoboard
(https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/g0wtfUfH
<https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/g0wtfUfH>) has been set up to collect
memories and “Jeff dLB stories” from those who would like to share them
with others. The AGU Informatics section is planning to devote time
during its Town Hall session at AGU23 to honor Jeff’s contributions.
Mohan Ramamurthy
Director, Unidata
*
