Unwelcome News – Roy Dokka Death

I received unwelcome news shortly after noon today that my former associate, the Director of the Louisiana State University Center for Geoinformatics (LSU C4G), Roy K. Dokka, PhD died unexpectedly at his home last night. Roy Dokka was a highly acclaimed, prolific and outspoken geologist and professor of Civil Engineering of long residence at LSU. He leaves his wife Margie and daughters Kristina Dokka Knight, Saundra Dokka Parfait and a grandson Trey Knight.

Professor Dokka joined the Department of Geology & Geophysics at LSU in 1980 after receiving his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Southern California. He was the only professor at LSU history to have  endowed professorships from two different colleges; the first recipient of the Adolphe G. Gueymard Professorship in Geology & Geophysics and also the Fruehan Endowed Professor of Engineering.

I began a closer acquaintance with him when in 2001, he became the first Director for the Center for Geoinformatics. I was encouraging the installation of Continually Operating Reference Stations (CORS), and at the time  I tried to persuade him of the benefits of using the CORS for real-time positioning to serve users all across the state. It was a hard sell at first but once on board he enthusiastically embraced the concept iniviting me to join him as Associate Director in 2005. We built what is now called GULFnet.

His work to understand the subsidence phenomena and tectonics in south Louisiana geology and along the Gulf Coast is well known and exciting stuff. Adding the GPS data to the more conventional methods of study provided many insights. Dr. Dokka was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and received the 1990 LSU Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award.

He published frequently in refereed professional journals and served as the major professor students for their masters and doctoral degrees at LSU. In 1992-93, Dr. Dokka served as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation and has been a member of several committees for NSF and NASA.

He will be missed.  The importance of his work in Louisiana Geology and the promise of LSU C4G cannot be overstated and will serve as a proud legacy. The GULFnet needs to continue and with the help of LSU and the community it will.