Water scientist Ronald Linsky dies

The scientific community lost a respected member when former Costa

Mesa resident Ronald Linsky died Sunday. Linsky was the first and

only executive director of the National Water Research Institute.

“It’s a loss to this county, and it’s a loss to the professional

water people in this nation,” Orange Coastkeeper Executive Director

Garry Brown said. Brown said he worked with Linsky on matters

relating to sewage treatment and water recycling.

The National Water Research Institute, based in Fountain Valley,

started operations in 1991. The organization was created to

coordinate and finance water-related research projects.

Linsky died Sunday of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow

ailment, at the USC Norris Cancer Center. He was 71.

“I can’t imagine him not being around,” his wife, Patricia Linsky,

said. “He didn’t just talk about life. He lived life. He loved art.

He loved music. He loved people.”

More than a man of science, Linsky would seek out local artists

when he traveled, his wife said.

His journeys around the world included work for the United Nations

Development Program as director of the Institute of Marine Affairs in

Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean.

About 10 years ago Linsky and David Furukawa, who currently chairs

the institute’s research advisory board, traveled to Oman to help set

up the Middle East Desalination Research Center, Furukawa said. The

organization was created to research desalination technology and

share knowledge in the Middle East and North Africa.

“The whole idea of that was to get everyone working together on

the same problem,” Furukawa said.

When it came to science, Linsky approached every problem with an

open mind, Furukawa said.

“It was very delightful to study with someone who was open to new

areas of exploration,” Furukawa said.

Newport Beach water quality activist Jack Skinner said he first

encountered Linsky in the mid-1990s.

Skinner said he worked with Linsky on a scientific panel that

studied whether water from the Santa Ana River was clean enough to be

used to refill Orange County’s groundwater supply. The study,

published last year, concluded Santa Ana River water can be used

safely.

“That was an experience that I’ll never forget,” Skinner said.

In addition to his research, Skinner said he will miss Linsky’s

smile, candor and personal and professional advice.

Linsky is survived by his wife, four children and 15

grandchildren. The family requests that, instead of flowers,

donations be sent to the USC Norris Cancer Center. Plans for a

funeral are still being made.

“It’s going to be a celebration of his life, not a memorial,”

Patricia Linsky said.