The Meixner Memorial Foundation was officially established at an organizational meeting on August 5, 2024 after months of meetings and discussions about how to best support the Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences Department at the University of Arizona, and honor Thomas…
Tom and I met in grad school in the early 1990’s. We overlapped at the Hydrology and Water Resources Department when it was in the College of Engineering and we were both working on our PhDs…the first time he had leukemia. Tom continued on with academia and I stopped, got my MSc in Hydrogeology, and went into consulting. I checked in with Tom when I could make it to events down at the University here in Tucson over the years. There was this continual concern on our part, especially with Ty, that fewer and fewer practical skills were being introduced into the UA HAS MSc student curriculum.
Therefore, I will help the MMF support HAS by providing access to Environmental and Mining Hydrogeology professionals and selected applied and practical projects. Several local mines use hydrogeology MSc graduates to establish and operate groundwater containment and pit slope depressurization systems. I can help applied students develop an understanding of what different types of open pit mines exist and how applied subsurface hydrogeology varies for each, the operational realities associated with in-pit dewatering strategies, water balance/water supply concepts, and safe tailings storage facility (TSF) operation and monitoring. The local governmental drinking and agricultural water supply entities all benefit from UA HAS graduates. I will work to get the professionals who operate these systems for these organizations to explain how they are designed, operated, and updated or retired. I will help HAS develop a short video library of talks on specific practical projects by recognized professionals actively working on these topics, for use in the one-year MSc program and by other lay people in our community.
As a graduate of the Master’s program in Hydrology and Water Resources, I had the privilege of working with Tom Meixner and many other outstanding faculty members. I am eager to support the Meixner Memorial Foundation by helping to connect students with research and engagement opportunities on public sector projects. Additionally, I hope to contribute to fundraising efforts and provide input on the curriculum for the new one-year Master’s program.
I valued Tom as a colleague and friend whose knowledge and interests were wide-ranging. He was always willing to engage with policy makers and reporters, and to serve on all sorts of advisory committees and panels. I plan to support the Meixner Memorial Foundation by helping with communications and outreach efforts, as well as working to develop student projects.
My brother, Thomas, was a source of joy for everyone in the Meixner family. His career in
hydrology grew out of his love of the outdoors instilled by our family camping and skiing
vacations, and his focus on education was instilled at a young age by our parents.
I am an astronomer who has worked as a university professor, an observatory scientist and as a
leader. I have worked on big NASA projects such as the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). I have mentored many
students in research at the bachelors, masters and PhD level. I am currently working as a
manager at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.
I will ensure that the MMF reflects our Meixner family values in education and service that
Thomas embodied. I will also help explain the program to potential donors. I am excited to
represent Thomas’s sisters in this impactful program.
My husband, Thomas Meixner was enthusiastic in his work with students, colleagues, and the community in which he served, to promote the importance of water issues and the impact that education about and work in hydrogeochemistry can have on our community and world.
I am proud to join the Meixner Memorial Foundation in supporting a Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona who will supervise a 1-year Master’s program, preparing students with a rigorous integrated curriculum, to be work ready when they graduate.
My intention is to honor Tom’s work and legacy by working with the University of Arizona and the Foundation Board and supporters to promote the program, and fundraise to establish a fund which will support a supplemental salary in perpetuity for a Professor of Practice. Additionally, it is our aspiration to provide students with scholarships and field equipment. My hope is that our enterprise will have a positive impact on the hydrogeological community, the University of Arizona, and our world, as we urgently consider water issues present and future. I think Tom would wholeheartedly bolster this effort and I am grateful for this opportunity to remember him by continuing visionary education and work in the field of hydrogeology and at the University of Arizona which he loved.
I founded the Hogan School of Real Estate in 1973 and over fifty years later it’s still going strong as a mainstay of Tucson’s and Arizona’s real estate profession. Real estate agents are often asked water related questions such as, “Is there enough water in Tucson for the future?” or “Are there any restrictions on water use for residential or commercial real estate?”
Tom Meixner was my nephew. He was also a great teacher. I, as a teacher, intend to support the Meixner Memorial Foundation’s mission and Tom’s legacy by educating real estate and related professionals (mortgage lenders, title & escrow companies, developers, appraisers, etc.) about the critical need to develop hydrogeology professionals who do the hands-on work of data collection, testing and analysis of water and water systems in the southwest, and use their skills to develop groundwater sustainably.
It is my intention to ask people and companies engaged in real estate projects to chip in to support the Meixner Memorial Foundation in its mission.
I came to the University of Arizona as a non-traditional doctoral student. The staff and faculty of UA HAS were empathetic of my distinct challenges, and supportive of my educational and professional goals. Among many faculty, Tom Meixner continued to bolster my professional development despite a non-linear shift in careers from soft money research, to secondary education and a federal agency. My education at UA HAS provided me with foundational tools that have made it possible for me to adapt, learn, reinvent and reimagine.
By supporting the MMF and collaborating towards the development of the MS program, I intend to leverage my professional and educational experience to: 1) open the door of Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry to underserved students, particularly from Hispanic and Native American backgrounds; 2) help educate scientists that can communicate complex ideas to anyone; and 3) provide early career professionals the tools for creative problem solving while increasing their awareness of uncertainty and comfort with randomness. Above all, I wish to preserve Tom’s passion for teaching, enthusiasm for learning, and keen ability to create supportive, inclusive communities.
Tom Meixner was a close friend and colleague at the University of Arizona. We shared a passion and commitment to seeing our science applied to addressing resource management issues in our watersheds and communities, and worked together on a number of important conservation initiatives in southeastern Arizona. Tom was an inspiration to know and work with, a great teacher and communicator, an excellent scientist, a fine leader and example.
I’m excited to be part of the Meixner Memorial Foundation’s efforts to support an applied one-year Masters program at the University of Arizona. The program is a fitting way to honor Tom’s memory and his commitments to science and community. Our goal is to help produce a generation of qualified professionals who can focus on solving critical resource management issues here in Arizona and beyond.
