It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Prof. Dr. William T. Scherer, Editor-in-Chief of Systems, in October 2024.

Our collaboration with Prof. Dr. Scherer began in 2020 when he joined the Editorial Board of Systems. He actively strived for the development of the journal and we were honored to welcome him as the Editor-in-Chief for Systems in 2021. During his tenure as Editor-in-Chief, he worked closely with the editorial staff to guide the journal through its development and growth. He was one of the undisputed pillars of the journal, and we were privileged to have his enthusiasm guiding us through the journal’s milestones. His contributions to the scientific community are widely acknowledged and his legacy will be preserved within this journal.

An esteemed expert in systems engineering, stochastic control, and business analytics, Prof. Dr. Scherer served at the faculty of the University of Virginia’s Systems Engineering Program after earning his Ph.D. there in 1986. He was a pivotal figure in the field, notably serving as chair of the Department of Systems and Information Engineering at UVA, as president of the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (ITSS), and as a visiting researcher at several organizations. With a teaching career at UVA spanning more than 35 years, he taught and inspired countless students via courses in systems methodology, financial engineering, decision analytics, and stochastic optimization. His dedication to education and research was recognized with numerous awards, including the Outstanding University of Virginia Faculty Award in 2007 and the UVA Engineering Distinguished Service Award in 2023. He also authored several influential publications, including How to Do Systems Analysis (2007) and its sequel edition, How to Do Systems Analysis: Primer and Casebook (2016).

Prof. Dr. Scherer’s passing is an immeasurable loss to the academic world and to all who knew him personally. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and the many lives he touched.

Systems Editorial Office