In memoriam Moshe Givoni

We are saddened with receiving the news that Moshe Givoni has passed away November 22, 2019. Moshe was the Head of the Transport Research Unit and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Geography and Human Environment at Tel- Aviv University. Moshe has been an active and much appreciated member of NECTAR since 2003. He joined the cluster leadership of the Networks Cluster (Cluster 1) in 2005 and has shaping the cluster as it changed its focus to “Transport Infrastructure Impacts and Evaluation” in 2017.

Moshe had a wide research interest reflected by many publications on integrated and sustainable transport policy development, competition, integration and substitution between aviation and high speed rail transport, active travel, road pricing and smart mobility. In many publications Moshe examined the environmental and social benefits of transport policies, where he also explored modern ways of gathering bigger data. His range of research interests were reflected by the variety of several cluster meetings that Moshe organized and co-organised. Events that Moshe helped organizing were, amongst others, cluster workshops in Leeds (UK, 2012), Liege (Belgium, 2014), Cranfield (UK, 2015), Molde (Norway, 2016), Warsaw (Poland, 2016) and cluster meetings at ERSA conferences and several biannual NECTAR conferences. Moshe has guest edited NECTAR special issues (e.g., in Research in Transport Economics) and co-edited two books in the NECTAR series published by Edward Elgar. With Nicolas Thomopoulos and Piet Rietveld he edited the book “ICT for Transport” in 2015 and just a couple of weeks ago the new NECTAR book “Transport, Space and Equity” was published, edited with Robin Hickman, Beatriz Mella Lira and Karst Geurs.

Moshe was an inspiration for many of us by pushing high-quality research and promoting better transport policies. At the same time Moshe was always kind, generous and humble – he was an incredibly positive person, always interested in other peoples’ research and lives, encouraging publications and meetings. Many of us remember dinners full of laughter – across the continents from Oxford to California – he was always so warm, welcoming and generous with his smile. Many of us have fond memories talking with Moshe during NECTAR meetings and its conference dinners and social events. We remember his warm welcome and proud tour around his Department and the city of Tel Aviv when visiting him. He was a wonderful colleague and NECTAR friend.

We will all miss him deeply. His smile will forever be in our hearts.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his wife Helena, his three children and the rest of the family, as well to his colleagues at his Department in Tel-Aviv.

Cluster 5 & 6 Special Session: “Regional Science and Tourism”

As part of the 26th Pacific Conference of the RSAI (PRSCO), to be held jointly with the 59th Annual Meeting of the WRSA in Waikiki, Hawaii from March 18 to 21, 2020, Nectar clusters 5 and 6 are organizing a Special Session on “Regional Science and Tourism”. The website for submission is now open (www.wrsaonline.org). Short abstracts, as well as full papers (also in draft format), will be accepted for the Special Session. Full papers benefit from the traditional WRSA 45-minute per paper time slot. The submission deadline is November 15, 2019, for full-length original papers (not previously published). The call can be found here.

Cluster 2 & 7 joint meeting: “Social and Health Implications of Active Travel Policies”

Cluster 2 of NECTAR (Network of European Communications and Transport Activities Research) focuses on policy and environmental issues and is planning to organize a joint meeting in 2020 with Cluster 7 dealing with Social and Health Issues. The meeting will be held at the Università Iuav di Venezia in Venice, Italy between the 26th and 27th March 2020. The Conference will bring together leading researchers from Europe and elsewhere. Deadline for abstract submissions is 18 December 2019. The call can be found here.