Vernyl D. Pederson, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, passed away on January 15, 2000 in Sun City West, AZ. Vernyl was born and raised in South Dakota. He served in the army in World War II and received the Bronze Star for bravery in Okinawa. He received his BS and MS degrees from South Dakota State University, and then his PhD in Plant Pathology from Iowa State University in 1960. He was an assistant professor and associate professor in the Plant Pathology Department at South Dakota State University from 1960-1968, and then joined the faculty of the Plant Pathology Department at North Dakota State University. His primary research at NDSU involved foliar, seed, and seedling diseases of barley, providing valuable information on barley disease management and contributing to the development of seven improved barley varieties. He also conducted research on seed treatments and foliar treatments to control barley diseases, diseases such as loose smut, and net and spot blotch. Along with his barley research responsibilities, Vernyl taught a course in Field Crop Diseases and was a major professor to eight graduate students working on barley diseases. Vernyl also was well known and respected for his professional photography skills and many of his photographs are printed in the APS Compendium of Barley Diseases. He also was well known for his development of remote sensing systems for measurement of plant disease incidence and severity. He was the first president of CROPSCAN, Inc., founded in 1985 to further develop and make available the remote sensing capabilities that he developed in his career. He continued his association with NDSU as Professor Emeritus after his retirement in 1987.