It is with great sadness that we pass on news of the passing of John Kerfoot. He battled a multi-year battle with cancer with dignity, strength, and a focus on the many things he valued, the most important being his wife Niki and daughter Alex. John carved a ground-breaking path through his career joining us in the late 1990’s during a series large naval experiments off the coast of New Jersey. He came via UC Santa Barbara where he had been organizing field experiments trying to understand how plankton sun burn in the ocean. His advisor at the time Barbara Prezelin called me saying “If you need to great person who is curious and wants to get things done, think about getting John into your team.” I invited him out and that became a partnership for over 25 years, and we have been blessed to have him in our lives.
While John came to help with extreme field work, he quickly developed an interest for coding and software development. Completely self-taught, he became a bedrock developer for the open access to an international community of underwater gliders. When he joined these ideas were still science fiction compared to now where hundreds of gliders may be operating in the ocean at any given time. The software to link these independent robots to become a global network of shared data and experience was anchored by the decades of John’s efforts and insights. He leaves a global legacy that will change how humans interact with the global oceans.
Finally, on personal note, John was a friend and colleague. The world is more prepared to deal changes to come because of his work. Despite the amazing footprint he leaves, as a person I am sad but relieved John can rest. Our wishes and prayers go out to Niki and Alex. We will miss you John.
