The Faculty of Health mourns the loss of Dr. Eric Roy, Professor Emeritus, former Coordinator of the Neurobehavioural Assessment Option and an important person in building the neuroscience area of the Kinesiology and Health Sciences department.
In his obituary, his family shared that he will be remembered for his dedication to his work at the University of Waterloo, his passion for research and developing his students and for his great sense of humour and caring manner. He joined the University in 1976 and retired as associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences in 2017, cross-appointed with Psychology. Eric was a member of the first graduation class in Kinesiology, completing his undergraduate degree and later his PhD at Waterloo.
His research focused on neurologic disorders such as stroke, Alzheimer's Disease, Down syndrome and Parkinson's Disease. Eric was a Past President of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology and was appointed a Fellow of the Society in 2013. The Society promotes the study of motor control, motor learning, motor development, and sport psychology in Canada.
“Eric's work on movement disorders is legendary as well as testimony to the potential in the first BSc Kinesiology program,” said Ian Williams, retired professor and former associate chair of the department. “The catalyst of course was Eric himself, a brilliant independent scientist.”
His memory is felt throughout the department and those he used to work with.