Ian, a scholar of ancient Greek philosophy of science, died suddenly Aug. 6, 2010, at the University of Chicago Hospital of a hyperaggressive viral infection.

Born in Andover, Mass., Ian attended high school in Sharon, Mass., where he captained the baseball and basketball teams, presided over his junior and senior year classes, and was student council vice president. At Princeton he majored in philosophy, ate at Court Club, and graduated summa cum laude. A Woodrow Wilson fellowship took him to Harvard, where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees, and met and married Janel Mulder. He taught at Harvard from 1963 to 1965 and the University of Illinois from 1965 to 1967, when he and Janel joined the University of Chicago faculty.

Ian taught at Chicago for 35 years, chairing the philosophy department in the early 1980s. With Janel, he designed and for 18  years taught a core humanities course, “Greek Thought and Literature, Homer to Plato.” Described by a colleague as “the preeminent philosopher and historian of ancient Greek mathematics in his generation,” Ian’s honors included fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Center for Hellenic Studies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He authored or edited numerous articles and scholarly volumes.

Ian is survived by Janel, two daughters, and two granddaughters. We have sent 
condolences.

Undergraduate Class of 1959