Cupertino, California (August 5, 2003) ― It is with a deep sense of loss that we announce the passing on August 2, 2003 of our colleague Michael W. O’Neill. He had just joined IJOPE as associate editor the week before. An acknowledged authority in his field, he was the Cullen Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Houston. He had authored over 200 papers and peer-reviewed reports on foundations and soil mechanics since 1964, as well as co-authored a reference book and the current FHWA manual on drilled shafts. O’Neill had been a member and chaired or directed a considerable number of executive, steering and technical committees. In the last two decades, his professional contributions were often honored, most recently by ASCE’s Martin S. Kapp Foundation Engineering Award (2003) and the Deep Foundations Institute’s Distinguished Service Award (2002).