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Oct 2019 We are sorry to report the death of Professor Elmer Rees

David Epstein, Emeritus Professor and currently Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Warwick writes:

"I attach a photo taken before the very first Warwick undergraduates arrived in October 1965. Elmer was one of my first Ph.D. students, and was among the very first graduates of the University of Warwick-he was awarded a Ph.D. in 1967, but the first Warwick undergraduates to graduate did so only in 1968. I was Elmer's Ph.D. supervisor, though Elmer soon knew more algebraic topology than I did. I was pleased when he found his own problem and solved it without help from me.

Elmer had a distinguished career, including a Chair at Edinburgh University, where he was Head of Department, and as Director of the Heilbronn Institute in Bristol. John Jones, now Professor Emeritus, who served as our Pro-Vice-Chancellor for several years, obtained his Ph.D. under Elmer's supervision, when Elmer was a lecturer in Oxford.

The Warwick University Mathematics Department was started by Christopher Zeeman in 1964, a year ahead of any other department, and we started with graduate students only, so it was very much a year of research. As you can see from the photograph, we were a small group, and everyone knew everyone else, with close social and academic relationships.

Warwick was (and still is) an exciting place to be. The stimulating environment was something Elmer helped to create. Happy memories!!''

Sun 13 Oct 2019, 23:09

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