David Savastano, Editor07.14.22
Dr. Danny Rich, 71, a leading expert in the field of color science at Sun Chemical, passed away July 3, 2022 after sustaining significant injuries as a result of a car accident in Memphis, TN.
Born April 23, 1951, to Cyril and Fleda Rich of Payette, ID, Danny received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho, and his master’s degree in physics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he met his wife, Phyllis. They moved to Troy, NY, where he earned his Ph.D. in color science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Danny began his career in 1980 with Sherwin Williams, and after a period at Applied Color Systems in Princeton, NJ, Danny joined Sun Chemical in 1998, where he was director of the Color Research Laboratory in the Daniel J. Carlick Technical Center in Carlstadt, NJ. He retired from Sun Chemical in August 2021 after 21 years. Shortly thereafter, he and Phyllis moved to the Memphis area.
Danny holds 20 patents and 21 applications that are awaiting approval. His industry awards were many: Danny was awarded the Nickerson Service award from the Inter-Society Color Council in 1999; the National Printing Ink Research Institute’s Award for Technical Achievement in 2008; the Thomas Alva Edison Award for Innovation by the Research Council of New Jersey in 2008; the Robert F. Reed Medal from the Printing Industries of America in 2013; the Mattiello Memorial Award from the American Coatings Association in 2015; the Godlove Award for lifetime achievements in color technology from the Inter-Society Color Council in 2019; and the President's Award from the Flexographic Technical Association in 2019.
His colleagues recall Danny as a terrific scientist and person.
“Danny was a giant in color, having been handpicked by Bob Bassemir to succeed him,” said Dr. Juanita M. Parris, global director, Application & Material Science for Sun Chemical. “I worked very closely with Danny since he joined Sun and any knowledge I have on color came from him. He truly was an international gem and will be missed by many.”
Sun Chemical CTO, Russell Schwartz knew Danny for 20 years, and recalled his ability and generosity.
“During the COVID-19 lockdown, we held a small, outdoor retirement dinner for him, and although he was very much looking forward to his retirement, he was happy to stay involved in color and support his colleagues at Sun Chemical for ongoing projects,” Schwartz said. “That is the kind of person he was.”
Patrice Aurenty, business leader Color Management, Global for Sun Chemical, first met Danny on the first day Danny joined Sun Chemical in Carlstadt.
“I was still working there for KPG,” said Aurenty. “We immediately had some great conversations about plate and color separation. After this, in 2006, when I took over the Color Management group for Sun, Danny became my key technical mentor in the color management field.”
“Danny was a pioneer in the color physics industry, authoring many key patents that allowed Sun Chemical to advance its color management platform to great commercial advantage,” added Dave Lazar, patent agent, Sun Chemical Corporation – Legal Department.
“Danny Rich was a walking encyclopedia of color knowledge who was admired not only by his Sun Chemical colleagues, but by many involved in graphic arts and color science,” said Rich Czarnecki, VP of Micro Powders, who was a longtime colleague of Dr. Rich at Sun Chemical. “What made Danny special was his unfettered love to educate an audience, be that in deep scientific terms at a technical conference, or in layperson lingo to someone with minimal knowledge of a given topic. It is this patience and generosity that I will always remember about Danny.”
As for highlights of Danny’s career, Aurenty spoke about the set of patents around digital color communication. “That is the foundation of Sun’s color management strategy, including licensing to X-Rite Pantone to become PantoneLIVE,” Aurenty said. “But his contribution to the industry is way more than this.”
“Danny’s impact at Sun was numerous and significant,” Dr. Parris said. “He won countless international awards and was highly regarded by the global color community. He served in leadership positions at the CIE, ASTM, ISCC and chaired several ISO Standards Committees.”
“Danny achieved many milestones in color science,” said Schwartz. “He amassed 20 patents during his colorful color career, mostly with Sun Chemical. In my opinion, his work on remote color management was one of his most significant accomplishments and one he enjoyed discussing. He also loved teaching color theory to all who were interested, and with an enthusiasm that captivated most, including me.”
Schwartz noted that Danny was also a very generous and kind person.
“He was passionate about helping young people succeed as evidenced by his commitment Steinerth High School Robotics in Pennsylvania,” he said. “He persuaded Sun Chemical to fund their participation in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and worked with them on their program since 2015. He will be missed.”
“He was a very nice human being, always ready to help, always full of ideas and things to try, never complaining, his ability to think out of the box, giving high level color science lectures to one or two members of our team like if he was in front of 500 university students or in an international scientific congress. His mind was reaching the stars, his passion was above and beyond everything,” said Aurenty.
“Danny was a genius in his field but could always explain extremely complex technology in layman’s terms,” Lazar added. “He was also very passionate about his work and his voice would sometimes raise to a fever pitch when describing a particularly exciting breakthrough.”
Lazar recalled one occasion when Danny was able to explain color concepts easily to a patent examiner.
“One fond memory is when Danny used to accompany me to the Patent Office to conduct patent examiner interviews for particularly difficult cases,” Lazar said. “One such trip was to argue for the patentability of an application directed to metamerism.
“On our way to the examiner’s office, Danny stopped at the vending machine (strange time for a snack, I thought). He purchased a bottle of Coke and box of M&M Peanuts, but opened neither,” he continued.
“Upon arriving at the examiner’s office, he held up the Coke bottle and explained the inherent difficulty in precisely matching the color of the red cap with the label, both of which also had to precisely match the Coke red seen on a billboard, magazine ad, T-shirt etc., all under different light conditions. He did the same with the yellow box of M&M Peanuts, then offered both the soda and the candy to the grateful examiner, who accepted and allowed the case the next day,” Lazar concluded.
“Danny was not only a brilliant scientist who demonstrated dedication and excellence in color, he was also a really great guy,” Dr. Parris noted. “He always had a smile, nice humor and gentle demeanor. He willingly helped anyone who asked for help. He was involved in his community such as mentoring young students in robotics competitions. We will miss not only his intellect but humanity as well. He will truly be missed.”
Danny is survived by his wife of 46 years, Phyllis; his daughter Amanda; sons Brandon and Bryan; and his twin brother David.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Church of Christ at White Station, 1106 Colonial Road, Memphis, TN 38117, ear-marked for the "Danny Rich Memorial" which will be used to serve the needs of the surrounding community.
Born April 23, 1951, to Cyril and Fleda Rich of Payette, ID, Danny received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho, and his master’s degree in physics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he met his wife, Phyllis. They moved to Troy, NY, where he earned his Ph.D. in color science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Danny began his career in 1980 with Sherwin Williams, and after a period at Applied Color Systems in Princeton, NJ, Danny joined Sun Chemical in 1998, where he was director of the Color Research Laboratory in the Daniel J. Carlick Technical Center in Carlstadt, NJ. He retired from Sun Chemical in August 2021 after 21 years. Shortly thereafter, he and Phyllis moved to the Memphis area.
Danny holds 20 patents and 21 applications that are awaiting approval. His industry awards were many: Danny was awarded the Nickerson Service award from the Inter-Society Color Council in 1999; the National Printing Ink Research Institute’s Award for Technical Achievement in 2008; the Thomas Alva Edison Award for Innovation by the Research Council of New Jersey in 2008; the Robert F. Reed Medal from the Printing Industries of America in 2013; the Mattiello Memorial Award from the American Coatings Association in 2015; the Godlove Award for lifetime achievements in color technology from the Inter-Society Color Council in 2019; and the President's Award from the Flexographic Technical Association in 2019.
His colleagues recall Danny as a terrific scientist and person.
“Danny was a giant in color, having been handpicked by Bob Bassemir to succeed him,” said Dr. Juanita M. Parris, global director, Application & Material Science for Sun Chemical. “I worked very closely with Danny since he joined Sun and any knowledge I have on color came from him. He truly was an international gem and will be missed by many.”
Sun Chemical CTO, Russell Schwartz knew Danny for 20 years, and recalled his ability and generosity.
“During the COVID-19 lockdown, we held a small, outdoor retirement dinner for him, and although he was very much looking forward to his retirement, he was happy to stay involved in color and support his colleagues at Sun Chemical for ongoing projects,” Schwartz said. “That is the kind of person he was.”
Patrice Aurenty, business leader Color Management, Global for Sun Chemical, first met Danny on the first day Danny joined Sun Chemical in Carlstadt.
“I was still working there for KPG,” said Aurenty. “We immediately had some great conversations about plate and color separation. After this, in 2006, when I took over the Color Management group for Sun, Danny became my key technical mentor in the color management field.”
“Danny was a pioneer in the color physics industry, authoring many key patents that allowed Sun Chemical to advance its color management platform to great commercial advantage,” added Dave Lazar, patent agent, Sun Chemical Corporation – Legal Department.
“Danny Rich was a walking encyclopedia of color knowledge who was admired not only by his Sun Chemical colleagues, but by many involved in graphic arts and color science,” said Rich Czarnecki, VP of Micro Powders, who was a longtime colleague of Dr. Rich at Sun Chemical. “What made Danny special was his unfettered love to educate an audience, be that in deep scientific terms at a technical conference, or in layperson lingo to someone with minimal knowledge of a given topic. It is this patience and generosity that I will always remember about Danny.”
As for highlights of Danny’s career, Aurenty spoke about the set of patents around digital color communication. “That is the foundation of Sun’s color management strategy, including licensing to X-Rite Pantone to become PantoneLIVE,” Aurenty said. “But his contribution to the industry is way more than this.”
“Danny’s impact at Sun was numerous and significant,” Dr. Parris said. “He won countless international awards and was highly regarded by the global color community. He served in leadership positions at the CIE, ASTM, ISCC and chaired several ISO Standards Committees.”
“Danny achieved many milestones in color science,” said Schwartz. “He amassed 20 patents during his colorful color career, mostly with Sun Chemical. In my opinion, his work on remote color management was one of his most significant accomplishments and one he enjoyed discussing. He also loved teaching color theory to all who were interested, and with an enthusiasm that captivated most, including me.”
Schwartz noted that Danny was also a very generous and kind person.
“He was passionate about helping young people succeed as evidenced by his commitment Steinerth High School Robotics in Pennsylvania,” he said. “He persuaded Sun Chemical to fund their participation in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and worked with them on their program since 2015. He will be missed.”
“He was a very nice human being, always ready to help, always full of ideas and things to try, never complaining, his ability to think out of the box, giving high level color science lectures to one or two members of our team like if he was in front of 500 university students or in an international scientific congress. His mind was reaching the stars, his passion was above and beyond everything,” said Aurenty.
“Danny was a genius in his field but could always explain extremely complex technology in layman’s terms,” Lazar added. “He was also very passionate about his work and his voice would sometimes raise to a fever pitch when describing a particularly exciting breakthrough.”
Lazar recalled one occasion when Danny was able to explain color concepts easily to a patent examiner.
“One fond memory is when Danny used to accompany me to the Patent Office to conduct patent examiner interviews for particularly difficult cases,” Lazar said. “One such trip was to argue for the patentability of an application directed to metamerism.
“On our way to the examiner’s office, Danny stopped at the vending machine (strange time for a snack, I thought). He purchased a bottle of Coke and box of M&M Peanuts, but opened neither,” he continued.
“Upon arriving at the examiner’s office, he held up the Coke bottle and explained the inherent difficulty in precisely matching the color of the red cap with the label, both of which also had to precisely match the Coke red seen on a billboard, magazine ad, T-shirt etc., all under different light conditions. He did the same with the yellow box of M&M Peanuts, then offered both the soda and the candy to the grateful examiner, who accepted and allowed the case the next day,” Lazar concluded.
“Danny was not only a brilliant scientist who demonstrated dedication and excellence in color, he was also a really great guy,” Dr. Parris noted. “He always had a smile, nice humor and gentle demeanor. He willingly helped anyone who asked for help. He was involved in his community such as mentoring young students in robotics competitions. We will miss not only his intellect but humanity as well. He will truly be missed.”
Danny is survived by his wife of 46 years, Phyllis; his daughter Amanda; sons Brandon and Bryan; and his twin brother David.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Church of Christ at White Station, 1106 Colonial Road, Memphis, TN 38117, ear-marked for the "Danny Rich Memorial" which will be used to serve the needs of the surrounding community.
