Professor David Simonett was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1926 and died of cancer in Santa Barbara on December 22, 1990. David undertook his academic training at the University of Sydney, where he obtained the degrees of B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. (geography). He was the first geography Ph.D. graduated from any Australian university. His initial research focused on mapping land use as part of the process of understanding the origin and development of geomorphic features. He applied scientific methods to his field research and this, combined with an insatiable academic curiosity, dominated his search for understanding the patterns of phenomena on the earth's surface and provided a basis for David's later research on remote sensing of the environment.

After completion of his Ph.D., David lectured in the Department of Geography at the University of Sydney and then accepted a Fulbright scholarship and a visiting lectureship at the University of Maryland. From there he went on to lecture at the University of Nottingham before finally joining the staff in the Department of Geography at the University of Kansas, where he remained for fifteen years. He was appointed professor of geography in 1966. It was during his term at Kansas that David had the opportunity to develop his interest in the field of remote sensing. With his earlier experience in land use mapping, he quickly gained an expertise in remote sensing that led to his appointment as associate director of the university's Remote Sensing Laboratory in 1966. In 1970 he was offered the McCaughey Chair of Geography at the University of Sydney. In 1972 he returned to the United States as a director of the Washington-based Earth Satellite Corporation. In 1975 he was offered the chair of a new geography department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He accepted the post with the intention of building an international-quality remote sensing unit attached to his new department. He achieved not only this goal but also another, when, a decade later, he involved the department in a multicampus-effort to compete for a new NSF-sponsored National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis. His drive, enthusiasm, and absolute conviction in the future worth of such a center helped win the nationwide competition. Established in 1988, the center underwent aggressive development and was renamed the David Simonett Center for Spatial Analvsis in 1990. Tragically David died shortly after the naming ceremonies were completed.

Throughout his career David was known as an "academic's academic." His critical and keen analysis of geographic problems ran the spectrum from soil science and remote sensing to the questions of human spatial behavior and the philosophy of science. In particular, his work on radar remote sensing was seminal. A particular achievement in this research area was the co-editing of The Manual of Remote Sensing. His breadth of knowledge made him a delightful and invaluable colleague. He left a legacy of more than 100 published papers, several books, and many technical reports. Many of his papers, both academic and professional, remain in the Department of Geography as a special collection. David's academic achievements were recognized by the American Association of Geographers, who presented him with its Distinguished Geographer Award, and by the Royal Geographical Society, from whom he received the prestigious Victoria Medal. He became a much sought-after consultant--first on remote sensing and then later on remote sensing and geographical information systems--by government agencies and private entrepreneurs in many countries. He was an avid disciple of his chosen field and traveled widely to speak on the importance of geography and the importance of the modern satellite and computerbased technologies to the discipline's future. In this context, he was among the first academics to visit mainland China. He pioneered one of the first exchanges of graduate students between the USA and the People's Republic of China.

David was not only a successful academic, but also a successful administrator at both the departmental and campus level. As the founding chair of geography at UCSB he quickly built a program that within six years had achieved international recognition. He stepped down from the chair only to immediately step up to take the role of dean of graduate studies at UCSB. His tenure as graduate dean was typified by the same action-oriented approach he had used throughout his entire life. Under his vigorous efforts graduate studies at UCSB grew significantly in volume and quality.

When David Simonett died, he lost a courageous fight against multiple cancers that were consuming his body. He continued his research, his student advising, and his interaction with his colleagues up to the very day he was hospitalized for his final battle. He undertook these last battles with the same assertive energy, sense of purpose, and integrity that led to the remaking of our Department of Geography, that contributed to his excellent leadership as graduate dean, that drove him to help establish the National Center for Geographic Information and Analvsis, and that mandated his devotion to his students and colleagues. His presence was so strong that even now, three years after his death, we still hear his voice of constructive criticism echoing in our colloquia. We still pursue his dream of a world-standard department based strongly on the frontiers of today's technologies. And we hear the ghostly echoes of his favorite sayings and admonitions in the corridors, the classrooms, and at our faculty meetings.

With the passing of David Simonett, the worldwide fraternity of geographers has lost an able practitioner, a colorful personality, and a staunch advocate.