Richard E. Honrath, Jr.

HOUGHTON - Richard E. Honrath, Jr., Ph.D., 47. of Houghton, died on Friday, April 17, 2009, in a kayaking accident on the Silver River near L'Anse.

He was born on Nov. 14, 1961 in Sacramento, Calif., a son of Richard E. Honrath, Sr. and Laura (Parson) Honrath.

Richard was a 1980 graduate of the Mira Loma High School in Sacramento. In 1984, he earned a B.S. degree in engineering & applied science from the California Institute of Technology. He received an M.S. degree in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1987 and completed a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1992.

He joined the faculty of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan Technological University in 1992, and rapidly rose to the rank of professor (he was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 1998 and the rank of full professor in 2003). He taught undergraduate and graduate classes, supervised graduate students and post-doctoral researchers and served in many service roles at Michigan Tech.

Dr. Honrath built a strong research program in atmospheric sciences which earned him international recognition. His research interests focused on global and regional atmospheric impacts anthropogenic pollutants and boreal wildfires and the interactions of snow, ice, air and light.

He was the author of 50 professional papers. He received the Michigan Technological University Research Award in 2006.

Richard was serving as a member of the Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs and had active research programs in Greenland and the Azores. He was also the director of Michigan Tech's atmospheric sciences doctoral program.

Richard was an avid outdoorsman. For several years, he was a Nordic ski coach for the Copper Country Ski Tigers. He also enjoyed mountain biking, cross-country skiing and white water kayaking.

Richard was a loving husband and father to his two children. He will be sorely missed by his family, colleagues, students, friends and those he has befriended through years past, both professionally and personally.

Richard is survived by his wife, Lori, of Houghton; son Ramey, age 19, a student at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City; daughter, Prabha, age 11, at home; his parents, Richard and Laura Honrath of Sacramento; two sisters, Linda (Andre) VonWartburg of San Francisco and Lisa (James) Ransdall of Pleasanton, Calif.; niece, Jessica Ransdall; nephew, Carey VanWartburg; several nieces, nephews, cousins and numerous friends.

Memorial services for Richard will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2009, in the lobby at the Rosza Center on the Michigan Tech Campus, with Dr. William A. Kennedy to officiate. Visitation with the family will be from 3 to 4 p.m. on Friday.

In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, donations may be made in Richard's memory to the Honrath Children's Scholarship Fund at the Michigan Tech Credit Union, 700 E. Sharon Ave., Houghton, MI 49931, or the Richard E. Honrath Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Michigan Tech Fund, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931.

Arrangements are being handled by the Jukuri-Antila Funeral Home in Hancock, Antila Funeral Service, Inc.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family at antilafuneral.com.