Dr. Sidney James Drouilhet II

Dr. Sidney James Drouilhet II, age 59, died under critical care at Innovis Hospital in Fargo on Friday, January 23, 2009 after a short struggle following a heart attack. Known to his friends and colleagues as Jim, he was a tenured Professor of Mathematics at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM).

Jim grew up near Houston, Texas. He earned his Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees from Rice University between 1966 and 1974. He served as an instructor in the Mathematics Departments of the University of Texas, Austin ('74-75), the University of Utah ('75-78), Yankton College ('78-81) and MSU Moorhead ('81-09).

In addition to publishing several journal articles, Dr. Drouilhet performed consulting and research for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, primarily during the summer months beginning in 1989. He wrote several reports on space debris and developed computer software that helps to detect and avoid debris in space. This has become an increasingly important concern for NASA since space vehicles can be seriously damaged by “leftovers” from human exploration.

In recent years, Jim expended a tremendous amount of his time and personal fortune doing research on the history and culture of St. Lucia. This included many trips to London and Paris— countless hours reading and copying historical documents. The director of the St. Lucia National Trust has received an extensive set of tapes and documents that are the result of Jim’s diligent devotion.

Jim was a long-time member of the Episcopal Church. He supported the FM Community Theatre and was a regular, committed attendee at the FM Opera, FM Symphony and MSUM Theatre productions.

Jim Drouilhet was an outspoken advocate of high academic standards, open university governance by all faculty members, and was also known for being a critical evaluator of administration, whether in higher education or government in general. He was deeply devoted to his parents (Sidney and Shirley) who preceded him in death. He is survived by his brother, Michael and family. Jim’s talent and persona will be missed by his colleagues, students, staff, family and friends.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, January 28th at 3:30 p.m. in the Comstock Room of Comstock Memorial Union on the MSUM campus. Memorial gifts are invited to the MSUM Mathematics Student Endowed Scholarship.