Today's Editor:
Alex Townsend
Cornell University
townsend@cornell.edu
Today's Topics:
G.W. (Pete) Stewart
Richard Tapia
Announcement for Topical Activity Group E-ANLAMA of the EMS
Report on symposium for Stratis Gallopoulos' retirement, 4-5 June 2026
UQ Summer School, Los Angeles, Aug 12-14 2026
Lecturer position at University of Leeds, UK
See this issue of NA Digest on the web at:
https://na-digest.coecis.cornell.edu/na-digest-html/26/v26n24.html
Submissions, FAQs, and archives:
https://na-digest.coecis.cornell.edu/
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From: Dianne O'Leary oleary@umd.edu
Date: June 10, 2026
Subject: G.W. (Pete) Stewart
Gilbert Wright Stewart III (1940-2026)
I am very sorry to report that G. W. (Pete) Stewart died on June 9,
age 85.
Pete was a long-time faculty member in Computer Science
(1974-2008), AMSC, IPST, and UMIACS at the University of Maryland.
Locally, he is remembered for broadcasting classical music
throughout the neighborhood of his office and for wandering the
hallways in somewhat of a trance whenever he was designing code or
a proof. He also made the rounds regularly, with coffee in hand,
visiting colleagues throughout the department.
Pete was a meticulous scientist, famous for deep results in
computational linear algebra, finely-tuned code (e.g., in LINPACK),
and exquisitely clear writing. It is widely accepted that he was
the first successor to James Wilkinson, the first giant in the
field, advancing the perturbation theory research that Wilkinson so
ably began and complementing it with algorithmic innovation.
Pete was a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus. He was
selected as a SIAM Fellow "for contributions to numerical linear
algebra," and as a member of the National Academy of Engineering
"for the development of numerical algorithms and software widely
used in engineering computation". Other honors include reception of
the F.L. Bauer Prize.
Pete authored 8 books and over 170 articles. I treasured him as a
colleague. It was an incredible experience to see how his mind
worked as we puzzled out the next step in joint projects.
His wife, Astrid Schmidt-Nielsen survives him, as do his children
Michael and Laura and step-children Mimi and Tom.
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From: David Bindel bindel@cornell.edu
Date: June 07, 2026
Subject: Richard Tapia
Richard Tapia passed away at the age of 88 on May 22. He was a much
decorated computer scientist and mathematician, a numerical analyst devoted
to nonlinear optimization problems. He was also a dedicated advocate for
increasing the participation of minorities in science and engineering.
Tapia spent his career at Rice University, and they have posted a moving
memorial article:
https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/richard-tapia-pioneering-mathematician-and-
advocate-diversity-passes-away-88
There is also an article on his career in the Communications of the ACM:
https://cacm.acm.org/news/in-memoriam-richard-a-tapia-1939-2026/
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From: FERNANDO DE TERAN fteran@math.uc3m.es
Date: June 11, 2026
Subject: Announcement for Topical Activity Group E-ANLAMA of the EMS
The Topical Activity Group (TAG) E-ANLAMA (Applied and Numerical Linear
Algebra, Matrix Analysis and Applications) is one of the active TAGs of the
European Mathematical Society.
The aim of the TAG is to bring together European scientists, and to foster the
connections between researchers all over the world, working on numerical and
applied linear algebra, matrix analysis and their applications.
More information on the TAG, including a list of past and future endorsed
activities, can be found at the website of the TAG:
https://sites.google.com/view/ems-tag-anlama
If you are interested in becoming a member of the TAG, please send an email to
Emre Mengi emengi@ku.edu.tr. No fees are required. By becoming a member
of the TAG you will be added to the mailing list and receive the announcements
on future activities. Everybody is welcome to join.
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From: Daniel B Szyld szyld@temple.edu
Date: June 10, 2026
Subject: Report on symposium for Stratis Gallopoulos' retirement, 4-5 June 2026
Report on the Symposium on Matrix Methods and Scientific Computing,
in honor of Prof. E. Gallopoulos, on the occasion of his
retirement,
4-5 June 2026, University of Patras, Greece
https://www.ceid.upatras.gr/assets/2026/05/SymposiumBrochure-1.pdf
We had a very nice two-day affair, with a mix of technical talks
and tributes including those from Erricos Kontoghiorghes, Yousef
Saad, Valeria Simoncini (Stratis Gallopoulos' first PhD student),
Tasos Zousias, and a dozen other former students, as well as an
array of Patras and Greek authorities.
Kudos for Costas Bekas and Andreas Stathopoulos who put together
such a wonderful event!
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From: Roger Ghanem ghanem@usc.edu
Date: June 09, 2026
Subject: UQ Summer School, Los Angeles, Aug 12-14 2026
The UQ Summer School will be held again on the Campus of USC in Los
Angeles, from August 12-14 2026.
Additional information with agenda and registration details is available at
http://venus.usc.edu/UQ-SummerSchool/
Cutoff dates for special discount rates at area hotels are also posted on the
website.
Roger Ghanem
Habib Najm
Youssef Marzouk
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From: Massimiliano Fasi m.fasi@leeds.ac.uk
Date: June 06, 2026
Subject: Lecturer position at University of Leeds, UK
The School of Computer Science of the University of Leeds seeks
applications for a Lecturer in Computer Science – High-Performance
Computing. This is a teaching and research position equivalent to
Assistant Professor.
High-Performance Computing is interpreted broadly and includes design
of algorithms and software for mixed-precision numerical linear
algebra, theory of computer number systems and arithmetic, development
of hardware for numerical computation, and design of number formats
and computer arithmetic for machine learning.
Further information can be found at:
https://jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=EPSCP1183
Complete applications are due by 23:59 BST on Tuesday 30 June 2026.
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End of Digest
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