11 May 2026
We are sorry to announce that Dr John Hardy, a former academic at the University of Reading, died peaceful on March 25 2026 following a stroke.
Dr Hardy was a member of the University’s Geography Department from 1960 until his retirement in 1992.
During this time, he worked in many different fields: initially in Hydrology, but subsequently Remote Sensing.
He worked collaborated with many other universities and other agencies, including NASA, the European Space Agency and NERC.
For many years Dr Hardy was the Departmental Examinations Officer. Over the course of his 32 years at Reading he supervised many postgraduate students and led numerous Geography field classes.
John was so much a part of the Department during his working life.
He, along with his colleagues at Reading, did a huge amount to advance our knowledge and development of remote sensing, which has offered humanity more opportunities to understand the world. His family’s hope is that this knowledge will enable us to live in this world more wisely.
Dr Hardy is survived by his wife Kathleen, three children, six grandchildren and one great grandchild. A memorial service took place in April.
We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2027/28 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2026/27 courses.
