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Page 271
he whole-heartedly devoted his talents to advancing the broad field of electromagnetic wave propagation in the terrestrial environment, donating generously his time and energy, and achieving huge success as a result.
Dr. Wait worked broadly to achieve his unique impact. First and foremost, he trained himself to work with extraordinary efficiency in the preparation of new scientific papers. As a result, he published over 830 papers and eight books in his 49-year career of writing. Second, he enjoyed interacting with and helping young scientists, whether it was one-on-one in response to some paper they had written, a talk they had presented, or in giving a course of lectures. In this way, he had an important impact on the careers of many young scientists. Third, he recognized the importance of high-quality scientific journals to the field, and therefore devoted considerable effort to national and international editorial duties. Fourth, he worked to stimulate and guide the evolution of each organization with which he was affiliated. And finally (and here we would both like to make personal tribute), he made himself available as a wise and much-valued consultant to colleagues and to management.
Dr. Wait was an avid hiker, biker, swimmer, and expert skier (he had been a member of the University of Toronto ski team as a student). He often encouraged colleagues to join him in these activities; few found they could keep up with him for long! Jim was confident and at ease with his scientific and athletic capabilities and quietly enjoyed his prowess in both fields.
Dr. Wait is survived by his wife, Gertrude; his son, George; his daughter, Laura; and three grandchildren, James, Carolyn, and Connor. He is also missed by scores of one-time colleagues and students, whose lives and careers benefited from his wise counsel and generous friendship, and indeed by all in the radio science community, a community that benefited so greatly from his many important contributions to their field.