In Memoriam

Professor Emeritus of Economics, Charles Lave

The Lave Prize Fund

Our colleague, mentor, and friend Professor Charles Lave passed away quietly Friday, May 2. Charlie was one of the first faculty members in the School of Social Science–he began his academic career at UCI in 1966, and spent his entire academic career in the School. He worked tirelessly to recruit faculty and build programs, served as faculty chair four times, and as chair of the Economics Group and Economics Department four times. He was also instrumental in establishing University Hills, and he served as the first Chairman of the Board of Directors overseeing it from 1983–1997. Charlie also served on almost every Academic Senate committee, and frequently as chair or co–chair. He served as the vice–chair and faculty representative to the design committee for the Social Science Plaza buildings. Charlie’s extraordinary service and accomplishments were recognized by his receiving the Alumni Association’s Extraordinarius Award in 1993 and the Daniel G. Aldrich Distinguished University Service Award in 2000.

Most of Charles Lave’s research was in transportation economics and he was a founding faculty member of UCI’s Institute of Transportation Studies. He oversaw the design and approval of UCI’s Ph.D. program in Economics, followed later by its pioneering Ph.D. programs in Transportation Science and in Transportation Economics. An expert in energy use, he was also known for his carefully reasoned opposition to rail transit systems and the practice of reducing speed limits to reduce transportation energy consumption. Among his many “contrarian” contributions was a paper showing that constructing rail transit uses more energy than is later saved, and another showing that Californians are less dependent on the automobile than the rest of the nation. More recently Charlie played a major role in an influential National Research Council Report on the energy and safety impacts of current U.S. light duty vehicle fuel economy standards.

Charlie was an early proponent of interdisciplinary research, and he coauthored many papers with anthropologists and engineers. He also co–authored an introductory textbook on interdisciplinary social science studies with founding Dean James March. Charlie was passionate about clear writing, to the benefit of his colleagues and terror of his students. Clear writing requires clear thinking, and Charlie excelled at rooting out unclear thinking in both popular and academic policy analysis. He also loved lively discussions, and was a pivot for regular lunchtime and Friday afternoon informal groups.

Charlie remained very active after his retirement from UCI in 1999, including continuing to help with recruiting and planning for the new Social and Behavioral Sciences building now under construction. Charlie and his wife Bethany became passionate collectors of oriental carpets, and have taken many trips to Turkey to study and add to their collection.

Lave Memorial Announcement .

Click here for Curriculum Vitae .

For more information about the Lave Prize Fund, please click here.