Raymond C. Battalio

1938-2004

With profound sadness the Faculty of the Department of Economics reports the death of its colleague and friend Ray Battalio, who passed away on December 1, 2004, after a brief and sudden illness. Professor Battalio came to our Department in 1969, together with John Kagel, both as new Assistant Professors from Purdue, where they studied with Robert Basmann, who also joined the Department in that year. Together with Kagel they pioneered what today is the field of Experimental Economics.

Ray Battalio spent thirty-five uninterrupted years at Texas A&M. During that time, he published 50 articles in refereed economics journals, 11 articles in refereed psychology journals, and one book. He was a founding member of the Economic Science Association and served as its third president. He was a dedicated and innovative teacher, and he left an entire generation of students who became prolific contributors to economic science.

The Economics Department intends to establish a Scholarship Fund to assist our graduate students working in the field of Experimental Economics --in our opinion, the best tribute that his colleagues and Texas A&M University can bestow to his memory and his legacy.