[cmath] S.W. Willard

[Johan Rudnick]

Stephen Whitman Willard, 67, Professor Emeritus at the University of
Alberta, passed away on August 7, 2009 in Edmonton, Alberta. 

 

He was born in Syracuse, New York and received his PhD in 1965 from the
University of Rochester. His supervisor was A.H. Stone. Early in his career,
he held positions at Lehigh University and Case Western Reserve. In 1969 he
joined the Mathematics Department at the University of Alberta. His main
research was in the areas of Borel Sets and characterizing spaces through
mappings. Steve is perhaps best known for his book General Topology which
was first published in 1970 and is still in print today. An early effort to
provide appropriate material for a calculus course for students in the
Faculty of Business Administration resulted in a textbook that was published
in 1976 as Calculus and its Applications. Throughout his career, he worked
tirelessly to provide a positive and challenging learning environment for
his students. In particular, he meticulously prepared learning materials for
the students who enrolled in all his classes from beginning calculus to
graduate level topology courses. He was a dedicated and an outstanding
teacher at all levels who was highly respected by his colleagues and
students. His teaching achievements were recognized by the University of
Alberta in 1983, when he was awarded the Rutherford Award for Teaching
Excellence, the highest teaching award given by the University of Alberta. 

 

Steve successfully guided 11 students to the completion of their PhD. His
published research papers appeared in a number of journals including
Canadian Journal of Mathematics, Fundamenta Mathematicae, Proceedings of the
American Mathematical Society, Pacific Journal of Mathematics and Rocky
Mountain Journal of Mathematics

 

 

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