Michael joined Unidata in August 2008 as a software developer. His work focused mainly on supporting two Unidata software applications that are widely used in the community: GEMPAK and AWIPS. GEMPAK is a cornerstone analysis and visualization tool in the meteorology community.
AWIPS, originally developed by Raytheon and the National Weather Service, is a state-of-the-art system for weather analysis and forecasting use in NWS Forecast Offices across the U.S. Michael worked tirelessly to reduce the complexity and resource requirements of the AWIPS package to make it accessible to a broader community.
Not only was Michael an outstanding software developer, he was extraordinarily generous in helping the community in their use of GEMPAK and AWIPS. He regularly travelled to universities to meet and train students and faculty on those tools, and was always looking for ways to make them more useful in the academic environment.
To say Michael’s untimely death is a major loss to Unidata, UCAR, and the weather community is a gross understatement.
In addition to Michael’s dedication to his software work, his passion for beer, food, travel, frisbee golf, and life in general was unmatched. Needless to say, he lived life to the fullest, with vigor and energy.
With his warm personality and polite demeanor, he touched many lives within UCAR and in the Unidata and other communities. There has been a massive outpouring of grief, along with many heartfelt tributes, from his many friends and colleagues throughout the world.
We are all deeply saddened and will miss him tremendously. Please keep Michael’s family, friends, and colleagues in your thoughts as we all cope with this devastating loss.
Friends of Michael have set up a GoFundMe page in order to establish a memorial bench on the Valmont park disc golf course in his memory. Michael was an avid disc golfer. The bench to honor him at the Valmont park disc golf course will be a fitting tribute.