Marinos Tsigas – In Memoriam

Today the GTAP community lost a giant – a larger-than-life contributor to nearly all aspects of the Project. Marinos Tsigas passed away this morning.

Marinos was involved in GTAP from its inception. He was co-author of the original GTAP Model and played a central role in the development of the GTAP Short Course as well as pioneering GTAP’s use in policy analyses for the US government.

Marinos was a brilliant economist. He was able to get to the bottom of general equilibrium results that simply left others puzzled. And, once resolved, he shared his insights freely with others. Those who worked with Marinos spoke glowingly about his mentorship. He took a strong interest in early career researchers and served as a trusted sounding board for his friends and colleagues.

Marinos’ list of contributions on the GTAP web site most impressive. In addition to presenting at many annual conferences and serving on program organizing committees, he volunteered as a regular reviewer of conference abstracts. He was also a database contributor, a member of the GTAP Advisory Board and a Short Course instructor. After being recognized multiple times as a GTAP Research Fellow he was elevated to the GTAP Hall of Fame. In 2016, Marinos was presented with the Alan A. Powell Award for outstanding service to the GTAP Advisory Board.

Perhaps most importantly, Marinos was a good friend and trusted advisor. Known lovingly as ‘Tio Marinos’ to our children, he was always there for us when we were starting our family. He also knew how to keep a secret! If you needed to share something, but didn’t know who to turn to, Marinos was always there.

Marinos was a devoted husband and father, and he will be sorely missed by his family, friends and colleagues.