Professor Jo van Nunen Passes

Professor Dr. Ir. Jo van Nunen, ERIM fellow and one of the most influential and best-loved professors of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, passed away suddenly on 12 May 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. He was 64 years old.

Jo, as he was known, had a long history with RSM (dating back to the 1970s when it was the IIB), and is considered one of its ‘founding fathers.’ Through his teaching, publishing and work with industry, Professor van Nunen was particularly influential in the areas of (closed loop) supply chain management and logistics. His position as Chair of the Academic Department of Decision and Information Sciences reflected his pioneering status in the field of IT. Among the many recent professional positions he held, he was the Scientific Director of Transumo, the national research programme on Transition to Sustainable Mobility, and Scientific Director of the Academic Centre for Transport. Jo was the founder of the ERIM research programme on Logistics and Information Systems (LIS). He held the position of Vice President of the Dutch Logistic Association (VLM) since 2005, and was Chairman of the International Scientific Advisory Committee for the Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics (DINALOG). Professor van Nunen was also Chairman of Smart Port, an interdisciplinary, inter-faculty initiative focused on research into harbor logistics; and Chairman of the Board of Fresh Corridor, which focuses on fast, sustainable shipping of perishable fruits and vegetables from the Rotterdam Harbor. Additionally he was an author and co-author of many articles and four books, including ‘Managing Closed Loop Supply Chains’ (Springer 2005). In honour of his forty years’ association with Erasmus University Rotterdam, he received the Ad Fontes Penning in July 2007.

Beyond his professional significance, Jo van Nunen was known for his expansive, energetic personality, joie de vivre, honesty and irrepressible sense of humour, which can be glimpsed in this video, produced last October for the launch of I WILL: http://vimeo.com/11262896. Professor van Nunen is survived by his wife, daughters and their partners, and grandchildren. His legacy to RSM and several generations of its students is incalculable. To get the full breadth and depth of Professor Jo van Nunen’s career, please see his <link people jo-van-nunen-in-memoriam-12-5-2010 _blank>personal homepage.