Maxey, a renowned hydrogeologist, was an early and prominent director of DRI's Water Resources Center who established the first Ph.D. program in Nevada's higher education system. He and his wife, Jane, also provided considerable extracurricular support and guidance for the hydrology and hydrogeology graduate students. The Maxey Building at DRI's Northern Nevada Science Center in Reno is named in Burke Dr. Maxey's memory.
The fellowship was established by Elizabeth "Betty" West Stout, a paleontologist who is a longtime supporter of DRI and a friend of the late Maxey's. Mrs. Stout has underwritten numerous research and fund-raising activities and the Institute recently named its conference center in the Northern Nevada Science Center in Reno in her honor.
In a related award, Nicole Brown, who recently received an M.S. in Water Resources Management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was awarded the $1,000 Maxey Award in Water Resources Research from DRI. The award was established by the friends and family of Burke Maxey.
Her winning competitive research paper concerned the interaction of ground water pollutants with surrounding rock and soil and was based on cores taken from the site of a nuclear weapons test in the Aleutian Islands.