We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Dr. Bodo W. Reinisch, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, on December 16, 2025, at the age of 89.
We lost a great person, one of the brightest figures in history of remote radio sensing of space plasmas who will be remembered for an effortless blend of intellect, wisdom, and human warmth that left a lasting impression
on all of us.
Fellow radio scientists will remember Prof. Reinisch as the leading force and inspiration for research and development of the Digisonde® family of ionosondes and two unique spaceborne instruments: the Radio Plasma Imager on
the NASA IMAGE satellite, flown to study the Earth’s magnetosphere, and the VLF Transmitter for the U.S. Air Force DSX mission to Van Allen belts.
Fellow plasma physicists will remember Prof. Reinisch as an avid supporter and contributor to the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model and an author of over 300 academic publications shedding light on the intricacies
of plasma behavior in the Sun-Earth system.
Students and early career scientists will sorely miss their trusted advisor - not only of the thesis, but also their life in general. Their professor worked tirelessly to help them succeed, up to the last months of his life.
Family and friends will remember Bodo as a kind and gracious human being, who tended to us carefully and loved us generously and unconditionally. He was curious and cultured: he loved to travel, to learn and experience different
cultures, he appreciated gathering with good food and drink, and he loved music, especially the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Bach. Throughout his life he fondly recalled his time at university singing in the Freiburger Bachchor, and was particularly attached
to Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium and the Johannes and Matthäus Passions.
Beyond his family, friends and science, Bodo always sought to contribute to our human condition. In remembering his childhood at the end of World War II, when his family was among the more than ten million resettled German
refugees, he always supported immigrants, new-comers, anyone struggling to build a better life. He advocated for world peace and international collaborations and understanding. One of his major achievements outside family and science, was in founding the German
International School in Boston.
For his outstanding contributions, Prof. Reinisch received the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) Appleton Prize (2011), with the citation “For revolutionizing radio sounding from ground and space”; the Officer’s
Cross of Merit First Class from the President of Germany(2012); and the Kristian Birkeland Medal for Space Weather and Space Climate (2014). But he was also highly decorated with the boundless love of his family and trusted friendship of people around the
globe. Today we sorely mourn his passing.
Personnel of the UMass Lowell Global Ionosphere Radio Observatory and Lowell Digisonde International, LLC will be rolling up their sleeves in the quest to ensure Prof. Reinisch's legacy is preserved, protected, and promoted
to the decades ahead.
Arrangements for a memorial service are planned for next spring.
Gerda, Karin, and Ulrike Reinisch
Ivan Galkin (UMass Lowell)
Ryan Hamel, Steve Vassilis, Steve Mendonca, Jason Grochmal, Matthew Petrin (Lowell Digisonde International)
