A UNM professor who helped discover the Hantavirus died last month.
Terry Yates, vice president for Research and Economic Development, died from brain cancer on Dec. 11. He was 57.
Ira Greenbaum spoke about Yates at a memorial service at Popejoy Hall on Dec. 12 while friends and colleagues watched a slide show examining Yates' life.
People who knew Yates said he was a passionate scientist.
Greenbaum met Yates at Texas A&M, where they attended graduate school together.
"Terry Yates was, quite simply, the best man I had ever known," he said. "It was obvious from the beginning that Terry was destined for greatness."
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Yates started working at UNM in 1978.
He is well-known for his role in discovering the Hantavirus - a respiratory disease that is often fatal.
The National Science Foundation assigned Yates to find the source of the virus.
UNM President David Schmidly said Yates' discovery placed him among the greatest mammalogists.
"I think he'll be remembered for his big-picture approach to natural history, science and research," Schmidly said.
Robert J. Baker was a mentor and colleague of Yates.
Baker said Yates was so passionate about scientific development that he donated his tissue samples when he was sick.
"He believed in science, and he wanted to contribute to someone else surviving if he couldn't survive," Baker said. "He was always into building coalitions. He always focused on the big picture, and he was glad to take risks."
Yates' research took him to Mongolia and Bolivia as well as across Europe, Mexico and the Southwest.
Joe Cook, a student of Yates', said that although the fieldwork was difficult, the camaraderie could not be beaten.
Yates was a natural leader, Cook said, because he had a powerful personality and a passion for his work.
"Terry would lead by example," he said. "He was tireless, always the last to bed and the first to rise."
The University has hired a search agency to help fill Yates' position as vice president for Research and Economic Development.
A search will be conducted nationwide, Schmidly said, but his shoes will be big to fill.
"It won't be easy, because Terry did more than his share of things to support the University," he said.
