In Memoriam: 2014

William Ramon Arnold was a member of the MAA since 2004, and his death was reported to the MAA in 2014. Arnold taught at Colorado State University and was co-editor of the book Mathematics is a Verb: Options for Teaching.

Jim Kiernan passed away on December 14, 2014, at the age of 65. He was a high school teacher for most of his career, at Edward R. Murrow High School in New York City, and a member of the MAA since 1999. Kiernan also taught the history of mathematics at Brooklyn College and was an active participant at history of mathematics programs such as the MAA-sponsored Institute in the History of Mathematics and its Use in Teaching. He was an author on two of the modules included in Historical Modules for the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics, published by the MAA. Kiernan served on the editorial board for MAA’s Convergence and wrote book reviews and other items for the publication. Kiernan is remembered in this HPM newsletter, an article in the bulletin of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics, and an online memory book.

Ivor Grattan-Guinness passed away on December 12, 2014, at the age of 73. He was a professor at Middlesex University (UK). In 2009, Grattan-Guinness received the Kenneth O. May Prize and Medal, awarded every four years by the International Commission on the History of Mathematics (ICHM) for outstanding contributions to the history of mathematics. Among his accomplishments, Grattan-Guinness founded the journal History and Philosophy of Logic. His article “History or Heritage? An Important Distinction in Mathematics and for Mathematics Education” was published in the Monthly. More information about his life and career can be found in his obituary.

James Stewart passed away on December 3, 2014, at the age of 73. Stewart, a member of the MAA since 1962, is best known for his series of widely-used calculus textbooks. Integral House, Stewart’s home in Toronto that he had built in the early 2000’s, is famous in architectural circles. In addition, he is a noted philanthropist and professor emeritus at McMaster University. Extensive information about his life and career can be found in this MAA interview, his Wikipedia page, an interview with Cengage, and in two obituaries.

Thomas Hungerford passed away on November 28, 2014, at the age of 78. He was a member of the MAA since 1964. Hungerford was best known for his widely-used texts in abstract algebra. During his career, Hungerford was a faculty member at the University of Washington, Cleveland State University, and Saint Louis University. His obituary can be found here.

Eugene B. Dynkin passed away on November 14, 2014, at the age of 90. He was a professor at Cornell University until his retirement in 2010. Dynkin was viewed as a global leader in the study of probability, and his work early in his career on Lie algebras led to the development of what are now called “Dynkin diagrams”. He also conducted audio and video interviews with a wide range of mathematicians during his career. For an extensive discussion of his life and career, see this article from Cornell and this web page at IMS.

Alexander Grothendieck died on November 13, 2014. He was a well-known and leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry for which he was awarded the Fields Medal in 1966. Grothendieck was associated primarily with the Institut des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS) in France. The MAA has a review of the book Alexandre Grothendieck: A Mathematical Portrait, and a photograph of Grothendieck from the mid 1950s is part of the Paul R. Halmos "Who’s That Mathematician" collection. Extensive information about his life and career can be found on many web site including his Wikipedia page, the AMS Notices, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and this remembrance from David Mumford.

Paulus Gerdes passed away on November 11, 2014, on his 62nd birthday. He was a professor at the University Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique until 1989, and then at Pedagogical University in Mozambique until his death. Gerdes was a well-known ethnomathematician, and the MAA published his book Geometry from Africa: Mathematical and Educational Explorations in 1999. Other writings by Gerdes on the MAA web site can be found here. More information about his life and career can be found in this remembrance.

Hans Schneider passed away on October 28, 2014, at the age of 87. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison until his retirement in 1993, and a member of the MAA since 1957. Schneider is considered one of the one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century in the field of linear algebra and matrix analysis, as his contributions formed a basis for the algorithms leading to the development of Google. Schneider is widely known for reviving Linear Algebra and its Applications through his leadership of the journal, and he co-founded the International Matrix Group in 1987, now known as the International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS). Schneider was memorialized in several online articles, he has a Wikipedia page, and he wrote his own obituary.

Henry Seebald passed away on October 19, 2014, at the age of 94. He was a faculty member at Lehigh College and a member of the MAA since 1948. A photograph is available here.

Peter Stanek passed away on October 18, 2014, at the age of 76. He was a member of the MAA since 1973, and worked in industry until he retired from Lockheed-Martin. Stanek’s was the co-author of a patent in image processing technology. After his retirement, he devoted his energies to the mission of the Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War II in Asia, and he served as president of this organization. Stanek devoted considerable time and talent to the MAA (as has his wife, Prof. Jean Bee Chan of Sonoma State University), and they have established the Chan-Stanek Lecture for Students which is at MAA MathFest each year. Stanek and Chan were awarded the MAA Certificate of Meritorious Service in 2013 for their contributions to the Golden (Northern California) Section, and to the national organization. Highlights of Stanek’s work for the MAA nationally include Governor-at-Large for the BIG (Business-Industry-Government) SIGMAA and member of the MAA Focus Editorial Board.

Jackie (Jacqueline) Stedall died of cancer on September 27, 2014, at the age of 64. She was a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and was known for her influential work as a historian of mathematics. Among her nine books is History of Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction (2012) and From Cardano’s Great Art to Lagrange’s Reflections: Filling a Gap in the History of Algebra (2011). Several of her books were reviewed by the MAA, and extensive information about her career and life can be found in this obituary in The Guardian.

 Nuri Yelman Ölçer passed away on September 12, 2014, at the age of 82.  He was a life member of the MAA for 28 years and a researcher at Ordnance Engineering Associates in Chicago.  An expert in partial differential equations, he also taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology and spent two years at Argonne National Laboratory.  More information about Ölçer can be found on this page and his obituary.

David A. Stone passed away on August 27, 2014, at the age of 69. He was a professor at Brooklyn College and member of the MAA since 2003. Stone’s research publications in mathematics involved the intersection of topology, differential geometry, and combinatorics. He was also known for his paper, “Omni Meets Feynman: The Interaction between Popular and Scientific Cultures”. His obituary can be found here.

Bennie Lane passed away on August 26, 2014, at the age of 79. He was a professor at Eastern Kentucky University until his retirement in 1997, and he was a member of the MAA since 1961. His obituary can be found here.

Paul Zwier passed away on August 21, 2014, at the age of 86. He was a faculty member at Calvin College until his retirement in 1995, and a member of the MAA since 1962. Zwier played a key role in the formation of the Association for Christians in the Mathematical Sciences wrote articles for their journal, and served as the organization’s president. More information about his life and career can be found in this remembrance from Calvin College and his obituary.

Bert K. Waits passed away on July 27, 2014, at the age of 73. He was Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at The Ohio State University and a member of the MAA since 1963. Waits was best known for the key role he played (with Frank Demana) in designing the Texas Instruments family of graphing calculators and promoting the use of handheld technology in mathematics education. Demana and Waits co-authored several high school and college textbooks. For more information about Waits’ life and career, see this remembrance by the Ohio Section of the MAA, this biography on the NCTM web site, and his obituary.

Marcel Richter passed away on July 11, 2014, at the age of 82. He was an economics professor at the University of Minnesota until his retirement, and a member of the MAA since 1961. Richter was known for his use of mathematical logic and set theory to study preferences, rationality and choice. He received an honorary doctorate from Keio University in Japan, and more information about his life and career can be found in his obituary.

Klaus Peters passed away on July 7, 2014, at the age of 77. He was a member of the MAA. A mathematician by training, his career was devoted to mathematics publishing, and known for his lasting impact as a publisher of books in mathematics, physics, and computer science. He and his wife, Alice, started AK Peters publishing in 1992. Extensive information about his career can be found in this retrospective in The Boston Globe, a set of reflections in the AMS Notices, this MAA page, another remembrance in the AMS Notices, this Wikipedia page, and his obituary.

Abdulalim A. Shabazz passed away on June 25, 2014 at the age of 87. During his career, he was a professor at Clark Atlanta University, as well as Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Shabazz was a member of the MAA since 1957. Shabazz was known for his outstanding work as a mentor of African American students in mathematics, and among the awards he received was the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. An extensive discussion of his career can be found on this MAA page, his Wikipedia page, and this tribute page.

Joachim (Jim) Lambek passed away on June 23, 2014, at the age of 91. He was a professor at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) until his retirement, and a member of the MAA since 1954. Lambek was known for his contributions to algebra, logic, category theory, computational linguistics, and other special areas of mathematics. Extensive information about his life and career can be found in this talk given on his 75th birthday, this commentary, his Wikipedia page, and his obituary. Photographs of Lambek and colleagues can be seen in this “souvenir” page of a 2002 meeting that honored him.

Edward Friedman passed away on June 19, 2014, at the age of 87. He was a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Hartford until his retirement in 1992, and a member of the MAA since 1950. His obituary can be found here.

Richard M. Cohn passed away on June 17, 2014, at the age of 94. He was professor emeritus at Rutgers University, having retired in 1990, and he was a member of the MAA since 1949. An article on Cohn’s life and career can be found here (on page 3), and his obituary is here.

Daniel C. Comiskey passed away on June 11, 2014, at the age of 84. He was a teacher at the Taft School in Watertown, CT for 35 years, and a member of the MAA since 1986. Read more about his life.

Amy King passed away on June 7, 2014, at the age of 85. She was a professor at Eastern Kentucky University until her retirement in 1998, and she was a member of the MAA since 1961. King received the Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics award from the Kentucky Section of the Mathematical Association of America, for her contributions to mathematics education. Her obituary can be found here.

David H. Nash passed away on June 6, 2014, at the age of 70. During his career, he was a mathematician for General Motors and a professor at Drexel University. He was a member of the MAA since 1972, and his paper “Differential Equations and the Battle of Trafalgar”, published in the MAA’s College Mathematics Journal, has been used in numerous differential equation classes.

Kathryn Baker passed away on June 2, 2014, at the age of 101. She was a professor at Baylor University and taught at other institutions and a member of the MAA since 1932 (a remarkable 82 years). Baker was known for her twin passions for mathematics and art, and she became a master weaver. She also founded the Baylor Children’s Theater. Baker and her husband Paul Baker (a well-known professor of theatre) contributed their papers to Texas State University, and more information about her life and career can be found in her obituary.

Walter Mientka passed away on June 1, 2014, at the age of 88. He was a professor at the University of Nebraska until his retirement in 2002, and he was a member of the MAA since 1952. Among his accomplishments, Mientka served as the Executive Director of the American Mathematics Competitions for 22 years, and four years he was the Executive Director of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad. For more information about his life and career, see this remembrance, and his obituary.

Samuel Councilman passed away on June 1, 2014 at the age of 79. Councilman was a professor of mathematics at California State University, Long Beach until his retirement, and he was a member of the MAA since 1964. A picture of Councilman presenting a scholarship to a CSULB student can be found on this page, and his obituary can be found here.

Robert Steinberg passed away on May 25, 2014, at the age of 92. Steinberg was a professor at UCLA until his retirement in 1992 and a member of the MAA since 1974. Steinberg was well-known for his innovative work in algebraic groups for which he was awarded the Leroy Steele prize from the AMS in 1985, along with other awards. Extensive information about his life and career can be found in this remembrance by V. S. Varadarajan, this article from UCLA, and his Wikipedia page.

Russell Rainville passed away unexpectedly on May 21, 2014, at the age of 70. He was a professor at the University of Maine-Farmington until his death, and a member of the MAA since 1980. Rainville was both a mathematician and an artist, and one of Dr. Rainville’s most recent accomplishments was curating Pictures: Polymath, an exhibit of mathematical art by both students and faculty. More information about his life and career can be found in his obituary.

Sylvester Reese passed away on May 21, 2014, at the age of 82. He was a professor at Queensborough Community College (CUNY) and a member of the MAA since 1959. Reese attended Morgan State University and did his graduate work at Columbia Teacher's College. He was known for his discovery of the Universal Parabolic Constant.

Harvey Cohn passed away on May 15, 2014, at the age of 90. He was a Putnam fellow and a member of the MAA for 48 years. Cohn held faculty positions at a number of universities, including serving as department chair at the University of Arizona for nine years. He also worked for the NSA’s IDA Center for Computing Sciences. Cohn is considered a pioneer in the application of computers to mathematical problems. Significantly more information about his life and career can be found in this autobiographical article from 1995 and his obituary.

Roy Sheffield passed away on May 4, 2014, at the age of 91. He was a professor at the University of Mississippi until his retirement, and a member of the MAA for 58 years. Before joining the faculty at the University of Mississippi, Sheffield worked for General Dynamics, helping develop a material to shield pilots from nuclear radiation. More information about Sheffield’s life and career, as well as a photograph, is available in an article from the University of Mississippi. His obituary is available online.

Richard BreMiller passed away on April 27, 2014, at the age of 82. He was a professor at the Ursinus College until he retired in 1994, and also taught at Episcopal Academy and at St. Joseph’s University. BreMiller was a member of the MAA since 1963. His obituary can be found here.

Billy F. Bryant passed away on April 25, 2014 at the age of 91. He was a professor of mathematics at Vanderbilt University until his retirement in 1998, and he was a member of the MAA since 1949. Bryant received the Meritorious Service award from the MAA Southeastern Section in 1994. Read more about his life here.

Frances Thompson passed away on April 23, 2014, at the age of 71. She was a professor at Texas Woman’s University until her retirement in 2009, and a member of the MAA since 1991. Thompson was known for contributions to mathematics education and was the author of “Hands-On Math” books. More details information on her life and career can be found in a citation from Abilene Christian University and her obituary.

William T. Fishback, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Earlham College, passed away on March 9, 2014 at the age of 92. He was a member of the MAA since 1948. In addition to teaching at Earlham College, he taught at the University of Vermont and Ohio University and held various visiting appointments at SUNY New Paltz, Clark University, Harvard University, and Denison University. During World War II he was a staff member at the M.I.T. Radiation Laboratory, a major government radar development agency. His obituary can be found here.

Eleanor Kendrick passed away on March 4, 2014, at the age of 77. She was a professor at San Jose City College until her retirement in 2011, and a member of the MAA for 34 years. Her obituary can be found here.

Lee Lorch died on February 28, 2014, at the age of 98. Lorch, a member of the MAA since 1951, received the MAA’s Yueh-Gin Gung and Charles Y. Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics in 2007, which honored him for "his continued dedication to inclusiveness, equity, and human rights for mathematicians, and especially his profound influence on the lives of minority and women mathematicians who have benefited from his efforts." Lorch’s life and career was remembered in an extensive article in The New York Times, as well as this remembrance. In the latter part of his career, Lorch was a professor at York University (in Canada), until he retired in 1985.

Walter T. Gregorzak passed away on January 5, 2014, at the age of 96. He was a member of the MAA for 61 years.