University Of Delaware: In Memoriam: Vytautas 'Vic' Klemas

Wilmington DE

19 May, 2022

2:54 PM

Description

Press release from the University of Delaware: May 17, 2022 Community remembers founding director of Center for Remote Sensing Vytautas 'Vic' Klemas, a member of the University of Delaware faculty for 34 years, passed away on April 24, 2022. Born in Lithuania, Dr. Klemas received his bachelor's and master's degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his doctorate at the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany. Dr. Klemas began his career at UD in 1971, when he was hired a professor of marine studies after serving as the manager of the optical physics group at the General Electric Co. research laboratories in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He was the founding director of the UD Center for Remote Sensing, which serves as a focal point for basic and applied research in remote sensing of the physical, geological, chemical and biological properties of the oceans and the coastal zone, emphasizing climate change and environmental monitoring. The center has conducted coastal and ocean studies in various parts of the world and has provided training to more than 200 scientists and students from the U.S. and 14 foreign countries. In 1997, the center was recognized by NASA as a Center for Excellence in the application of remote sensing to regional and global environmental assessment of coastal/marine resources. Dr. Klemas had joint faculty positions in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Geography. In 2005, he retired as a professor Emeritus. Fabrice Veron, interim dean of the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment at UD, said that Dr. Klemas was "a valued colleague and a mentor who always had encouraging words and helpful suggestions. He was one of those 'old school' professors who valued teamwork and who cultivated an excitement about learning and advancing knowledge in everyone he interacted with. We'll all miss him." Xiao-Hai Yan, the Mary A.S. Lighthipe Professor of Marine Studies, said that it was Dr. Klemas' encouragement that led Yan to UD. He added that Dr. Klemas' students often tell stories of the way he changed their lives or pointed them in the right direction, believing in them when they may not have believed in themselves. This press release was produced by the University of Delaware. The views expressed here are the author's own.