The CBI family is saddened by the passing of Jonathan “Scott” Duff Friday morning at the age of 47. Scott had a considerable influence on CBI over more than two decades. He joined CBI as a student research assistant in the early 90s and worked closely with Dr. Pat Michaud to build the revolutionary Pharos system which served tide gauge and weather data from the growing Texas Coastal Ocean Observation Network (TCOON). Their work was years ahead of any other system nationwide providing full access to the data in multiple formats, and the management and maintenance records all online by the late 90’s. Scott took over the management of the TCOON computational infrastructure when Dr. Michaud departed and later became CBI Assistant Director for Information Technology with some years spent in Austin and for the past few years in Dallas in the private sector. Scott was never far away to provide advice or share a Barbeque, and he cooked some pretty good briskets! Most of CBI IT systems have Scott’s imprint. But Scott’s influence was quite broader with his calm demeanor in all situations and his sharp analytical mind, he was a strong influence providing input to many decisions at CBI. Scott was also an excellent mentor to our students who looked forward to brainstorming sessions with him discussing computational issues (after good preparation…) in his office. Scott was a trusted friend to many of us.
It was great to see Cyndi and their growing family through the years at our social events and have their support. The Duff family is foremost in our thoughts during this very difficult time.
Scott we will miss you but you will remain in our thoughts and your considerable influence on this institute will continue for many years.
