Edward J. Champlin, a versatile classicist whose historical research ranged from Roman emperors to Latin legal texts, died Dec. 23 at age 76. Champlin, the Cotsen Professor in the Humanities, taught more than 40 different courses during his four decades on the Princeton faculty. His scholarship was rooted in “an effort to recover the lost intentions of the real people who populated the distant world of Rome,” according to a biographical sketch published by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty when he transferred to emeritus status in 2016. Champlin served as head of Butler College for eight years, chaired the Department of Classics for six years, and was a faculty representative on the Council of the Princeton University Community.
Paul M. (Mike) Lion III *65, an expert in optimization and former professor in the aerospace and civil engineering departments, died Nov. 3 at age 89. In his 12 years on the faculty, his contributions included founding an interdisciplinary graduate program devoted to transportation. Lion left the University to work in industry and spent the next two decades in roles at the U.S. Railway Association, Snavely King & Associates, Arthur D. Little Inc., and ALK Associates, according to a family obituary.
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Dan Armstrong ’72
6 Days AgoRemembering Mike Lion *65
The first item to catch my eye when thumbing through PAW’s February “Lives Lived and Lost” issue was the “In Memoriam” box for two retired Princeton professors. One of them, Paul M. Lion *65, was my math teacher during my junior year in the engineering school. I was a quiet and unassuming student who had many excellent professors at Princeton, but Mike Lion was the only one to become a friend.
After getting to know him in his Complex Variables class, I asked him to be the adviser for my senior research project. By that time, I had decided not to be an engineer and instead wanted to write fiction. My project idea — to delve the theory of relativity for ideas applicable to science fiction scenarios — was very much outside the box for completing an engineering degree. Professor Lion, however, knew that I was serious about becoming a writer and with his support my senior project was accepted by the American studies department.
The ensuing semester with Professor Lion, discussing anything from time travel to the existence of extraterrestrials, was arguably my most enjoyable and stimulating time at Princeton. In 2022, I wrote a novel about my four years at Princeton titled Princeton Charlie’s Got the Blues. Two chapters feature Mike Lion using a fictional name. When writing these chapters, I often thought of Professor Lion and where he might be.
I was sad to learn from the memoriam that he died in November 2024, but the short piece also rekindled many fond memories of Professor Lion and the unbounded discussions we had in his office. My thoughts go out to his family and to him — if he can receive them out there in the spacetime continuum.