Academic Obituary

WATERS, William Glennon II  (Bill) – April 7, 1941 – November 25, 2010

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Bill Waters, a former editor of the Review. Dr. Waters was a member of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia (UBC) from 1969-2002. He was Editor-in-Chief of Transportation Research, E (the Logistics and Transportation Review) (formerly the Logistics and Transportation Review) from 1985-2000, and guided the Review during a critical development period.

He was a PhD graduate of University of Wisconsin. Bill served as President of the Canadian Transportation Research Forum and Director of the Centre for Transportation Research at UBC. He was selected to be a member of the Canada Transportation Act Review Panel and was a major author of its highly cited report. Dr. Waters received the Distinguished Member Award of the Transportation and Public Utilities Group of the American Economic Association, was named a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport and was given a lifetime achievement award of the Canadian Transportation Research Forum.

In addition to teaching at the University of British Columbia, Bill held fellow or visiting professor positions at Oxford University (U.K.), the Australian Bureau of Transport Economics, the University of Sydney and the University of Tasmania.

Dr. Waters' early research career focused on the role of transportation costs in the international terms of trade. He was best known for his substantial contributions in the field of railway economics, especially for studies of railway costing, pricing and productivity. In the field of logistics, he undertook a major study of export coal economics, and his study for the World Bank on transportation supply and demand elasticities continues to be widely cited. 

He inspired two generations of students in transportation economics and helped shape government policies in several countries.