In Memoriam: Dr. John H. Austin

	John Austin at Redskins Fan Appreciation Day.

It is with extreme sadness that we inform you of the death of our USAID colleague Dr. John H. Austin of the Bureau for Global Health. He died at his home on August 17, 2004 at the age of seventy-five.

Those of us who knew Austin admired his positive attitude. Over the 22 years that he served USAID, he touched many people in the Agency with his professionalism.

At the time of his death, Austin was serving as a part-time advisor to Global Health's Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition (HIDN), having retired from full-time employment as Global Health's Senior Water and Sanitation Advisor on March 31, 2004.

Austin took great pride in calling himself a sanitary engineer. In a career spanning six decades, Austin used his broad expertise to improve water supply and sanitation, institutional development, and public health in all regions of the world.

Austin's career was diverse and accomplished. He began international work as a Fulbright Scholar at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands from 1953-1954 after having completed his Master's degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bachelor's degree at Syracuse University, both in sanitary engineering. He then worked for the U.S. Public Health Service before going overseas with the U.S. Operations Mission in Vietnam from 1957-1959, where he instituted training courses overseas in rural water supply and sanitation, in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1963, Austin had a successful academic career at the University of Illinois and Clemson University, where he was head of the Department of Environmental Systems Engineering.

Austin joined USAID in 1981 as an environmental engineer, and was responsible for institutional and human resource development in water supply and sanitation. Many of his colleagues in the Agency identify him with the Water and Sanitation for Health (WASH) project.

Austin designed the Environmental Health Project before retiring from USAID in 1992. He joined the faculty of Colorado State University as Professor of Water Resources and also served USAID as a Senior Advisor on a full-time basis in late 1993.

In May 2004 Austin's accomplishments were acknowledged in a Lifetime Achievement award from the Bureau for Global Health.

He will have a special place in the hearts of all of us at USAID who had the honor of working with him. His positive energy and intellectual curiosity are his legacy.

Austin is survived by his wife, Rita Klees, four children, six grandchildren, and two sisters.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 28th at 9:00 a.m. at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington Boulevard, in Arlington, VA, (Phone: 703-892-2565), near the intersection of Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) and George Mason Drive.