Robert (Bob) Starbird Dorney was an ecologist with a focus on environmental management. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in Veterinary Science and Wildlife Management with an interest in diseases of wild animals. He worked first as a conservation biologist in Wisconsin with the State Conservation Department and at the University of Wisconsin, during which time he wrote on ruffed grouse, raccoons, squirrels and rabbits. He then moved to Latin America and for three years was a science advisor on renewable natural resources to the countries involved in the Pan American Union.

In 1967 he was hired by the University of Waterloo School of Urban and Regional Planning as a professor in the area of applied ecology, environmental and resource management, where he remained until his death in 1987. He educated students, politicians, developers and the general public on the value of the science of ecology in improving the design and livability of urban environments, a private as well as a public commitment. As a founding member of the Waterloo Region's Ecological and Environmental Advisory Committee, he contributed to the identification of environmentally sensitive areas for inclusion in the Region's master plan, while at his home he developed a mini-ecosystem of natural vegetation which was studied by students and gardeners alike. Dorney was also a founding partner of Ecoplans Ltd., an environmental planning consulting company, and author of The Professional Practice of Environmental Management published posthumously in 1989. The Robert S. Dorney Ecology Garden, a naturalized garden next to Environment 1 on the grounds of Waterloo's main campus, was established in his honour in 1998.