It is with deep sadness I share that Emeritus Professor Brian Hardaker, UNE Business School, passed away on Tuesday 10 October. Brian’s wife reached out to our colleague Dr Emilio Morales and shared the devastating news. Brian’s wife also informed Emilio that before he passed away he wished the best for all UNE colleagues.

Brian Hardaker was an Emeritus Professor in the UNE Business School. He started his career in Agricultural Economics working at the University of London, then Cambridge University, UK, before coming to UNE in 1967 as a Lecturer in the (then) Department of Farm Management, which later merged with Agricultural Economics.

Brian retired from UNE in 1995 having reached the rank of Professor (Personal Chair). After he arrived at UNE he joined a group of young and enthusiastic scholars, led by the late Professor John Dillon, who became interested in risk in agriculture. Brian was a co-author with Jock Anderson and John Dillon of a pioneering and influential book on the topic, published in 1977, called Agricultural Decision Analysis.

Subsequently, Brian was the lead author of a book, published in 1997, called Coping with Risk in Agriculture, which was an update of the earlier publication. Two subsequent updated editions have been published. Since Brian retired, he worked as a private consultant and as an Honorary Professor at Curtin and Wageningen Universities, as well as an Associate at the Norwegian equivalent of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).

Brian was a Past President and Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES). He published approximately 350 research outputs, in the form of books, major reports, and journal publications. Brian’s contribution to UNE Business School and UNE will be sorely missed and my heartfelt condolences are with his family members.

• Professor Sujana Adapa