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                                 R. E. Munn, Founding Editor 1919–2013

Our founding editor, Ted Munn, died September 7, 2013. He was 94 years old. While Boundary-Layer Meteorology readers will know of Ted for his boundary layer and climate writings, and his role as a founding editor, there were other aspects to his life. Several of these were highlighted in the obituary published by the Globe and Mail (2013) newspaper in Toronto. For example “While at McMaster, he spent his summers sailing the Great Lakes as he played violin in the orchestra on the SS Manitoulin. In WWII he forecast weather from Gander NL for trans-Atlantic flights and North Atlantic operational patrols.”

I had not been aware of his career as a violinist but his interest in music was maintained throughout his life. At the monthly gatherings of retired senior scientists from Environment Canada and University of Toronto (which he arranged) there was as much discussion of the latest performances at the Toronto Symphony and Opera Houses as of recent climate publications. Ted was extremely knowledgeable about both and maintained a vigorous interest in these and other issues as a very alert and active 90-year old.

For the boundary-layer community Ted will be best known for his role in establishing Boundary-Layer Meteorology in 1970, his many early publications on micrometeorology and air quality plus his books, Descriptive Micrometeorology and Biometeorological Methods (Munn 1966, 1970). In 1996 we published a “mini-biography” (Taylor et al. 1996) to celebrate his 25 years as editor. At that point Ted was 76 years old. He did not slow down. Ted designed, coordinated and served as editor in chief for the five volume Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change (Egec) which was completed in 2002. This monumental project (Munn 2002) was a result of the research of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program and reflected Ted’s broad research interests, as well as his excellent organizational and editorial skills. Wiley’s web site now states “less than 20 copies remaining ... order your copy now”! In his very positive review, Huns Günter Brauch (2003) states, “Hopefully the publisher should consider whether the whole encyclopedia could be put on the Internet, to permit individual researchers, especially in Third World institutions, free access to this important scientific information on global environmental change......”. This may not have happened but Ted’s book of anecdotes, ‘The World Environment 450 BC to 2100 AD’ is freely available at www.redbinstorage.com. The book and web site also include information about the author and a link to an “in memoriam” article from Elsevier is posted on the web site.

As the Globe obituary notes Ted “never lost his appetite for good music, good food, good parties, good friends and a daily dose of the London Times. He lived life to the fullest, his age was irrelevant.” He was a good friend and I will always remember him as a wise and very helpful mentor. A well attended thanksgiving service was held 5 October at St Clement’s church in Toronto. Doug Whelpdale spoke on Ted’s scientific career while Ted’s son Robert and grandson, Eric Fleming, gave us some interesting, and often amusing, insights into Ted’s home life.