Jan Vincent Vandenberg, a Johns Hopkins University computer scientist and systems architect who made astronomical images accessible to the public and helped catapult citizen science forward, died May 13, 2021, at 48, from colon cancer. He was at home, surrounded by his loving family, in Towson, Md.

Mr. Vandenberg was born on January 13, 1973, in Cumberland, Md., to Jan Stephen Vandenberg and Mimi (Kendall) Vandenberg. A Renaissance man from a young age, he enjoyed playing trumpet and piano as much as he did soccer and lacrosse. He was a competitive swimmer, excelled at math and science, and always kept up with the latest innovations in advanced computing. He spent countless weekends both reflecting on life's meaning and setting things aflame at the river.

Mr. Vandenberg enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in 1991, initially studying philosophy. He officially became a computer science major the following year once he realized he would not have to write any papers.

By 1994, having extracted as much as he would from his undergraduate studies, he became a systems administrator in the Henry A. Roland Department of Physics and Astronomy at JHU. He would go on to serve the university with distinction for almost 30 years.

As chief systems architect for the Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science, Mr. Vandenberg designed and built groundbreaking computer systems for data-intensive science on par with the world's most advanced supercomputers, including the award-winning GrayWulf cluster.

He was a key collaborator in Galaxy Zoo, which offered unprecedented public access to astronomy images. As a core member of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey team that pioneered a science platform for data-intensive research, along with his colleagues he received the prestigious ACM SIGMOD Systems Award in 2021.

In addition to being an elite keyboard jockey, Mr. Vandenberg was a deceptively athletic outdoorsman. A decorated air rifle marksman, he is credited with personally reducing Baltimore's rat population by 7% between 1996 and 2019. As an amateur race car driver and car enthusiast, his star had been on the rise in the competitive world of Hungarian motorsports.

Of all his myriad achievements, Mr. Vandenberg was undoubtedly most proud of his three sons, Charles Garrett Vandenberg, William Everest Vandenberg, and Lincoln River Vandenberg, whom he shared with the love of his life, Jennifer (Strauss) Vandenberg. The couple would have celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in June. When initially diagnosed with cancer in 2013, he voiced a single wish: missing not one day with his beautiful, beloved family.

He is survived by his parents; his sister, Abby Vandenberg; his wife and three sons; and countless friends and family for whom the stars now shine less brightly but remain forever grateful for the love, joy, and time they shared with him on this fragile Earth.

All services will be private. The Vandenberg Family is deeply grateful for your love, prayers, notes and offers to help.  In lieu of flowers, you are welcome to contribute to an education fund that will support Charlie, Will and Lincoln's postsecondary studies.