In Memoriam: Philip E. “Phil” Bourne

Founding dean of the School of Data Science was “a visionary”

Phil Bourne’s memorial service was held in the School of Data Science, a building Bourne himself had been key in securing.

A line of motorcycles stretched in front of the building, with their gear-clad riders reminiscing about days spent traveling the country with Bourne. A playlist titled “Dad Playlist #1” full of classic rock tunes welcomed in friends and colleagues, and the Monty Python quote “Always look on the bright side of life” opened a memorial slideshow.

Bourne, the founding dean of the School of Data Science, died March 8 at 72. A pioneer in the field who served as the first associate director for data science at the National Institutes of Health, he arrived at UVA in 2017 to direct the Data Science Institute. Two years later, he helped transform it into an entirely new school of the university.

“He had a vision for data science. It was all about data science for the common good, and that’s what we were interested in,” said Don Brown, former director of the Data Science Institute and current senior adviser to the dean of the School of Data Science, at the memorial.

Bourne and Brown pitched the idea for the new school to then-President Jim Ryan (Law class of ’92), who had just assumed the role in mid-2018. Ryan wasn’t particularly receptive.

“It is not a small thing to create a new school,” Ryan said at the memorial service, adding that he eventually came around and recognized Bourne as “a visionary.”

“Phil saw things that others didn’t,” Ryan said. “He knew what was coming in data science and how it was already changing the world.”

Bourne was singularly invested in the success of the school and its people. He was, according to Brown, a “servant leader.” Despite his extensive research career, “he really made it clear that his focus was going to be on the school and on building the school,” Brown told Virginia Magazine.

Born in England, Bourne moved to Australia at 12. He earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in chemistry from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. He came to the United States to work at Columbia University and later became a professor at the University of California, San Diego, where he made himself known in the field of bioinformatics. He joined the National Institutes of Health in 2014 before landing at UVA.

Bourne’s work has made a significant impact on how research is conducted and shared. As a founding member of the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB), he was a key figure in managing, developing and securing federal funding for the Protein Data Bank, a massive open-access archive of structure data of proteins and other large biological molecules.

“So much of modern science is built on the back of that work,” said Stephen Turner, assistant dean for research at the School of Data Science.

Bourne was beloved by his colleagues. “It was hard not to have meetings with him and smile and laugh a lot,” said Brown. “He was just the kind of guy that made that possible.”

Survivors include his wife, Roma; two children; and a granddaughter.

—Kiki McLaughlin