In Memoriam—Leo Kroon and Marius Solomon
It is with great sadness that we must end the year in which we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Transportation Science on a note of grief. Leo Kroon and Marius Solomon, who have contributed in so many ways to our community and who have been dedicated associate editors of our flagship journal, recently and unexpectedly, passed away; Leo at the age of 57 and Marius at the age of 61.
Leo worked as a professor of quantitative logistics at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), and as a logistics consultant in the Department of Process Quality and Innovation at Netherlands Railways. During his long career of more than 32 years, he served in many positions and roles: as a scientific researcher, a professor, and a supervisor to many Master’s students and Ph.D. candidates. Leo was a member of the Netherlands Railways team that won the prestigious INFORMS Edelman Award in 2008 for its model-based contributions to the development of the 2007 timetable. We will remember Leo as a brilliant and erudite colleague who was committed to his students, his colleagues, our community, and its flagship journal. He was honest, humble, and gifted with a subtle sense of humor.
Marius was a professor at Northeastern University. Marius was well known as a thought leader in the management science field. In 2012, his lifelong research contributions were recognized when he was elected as a fellow of INFORMS. He has served as president of the Transportation Science and Logistics Society (then Section). Marius will be fondly remembered, not in the least for creating the instances of the vehicle routing problem with time windows that have served our community so well and have inspired many aspiring young (and old) researchers. But first and foremost, because he was a great friend, a respected colleague, a passionate teacher, and he has helped build and sustain the reputation of our flagship journal. Both will be deeply missed.
Martin Savelsbergh
Editor-in-Chief
Transportation Science
