Louis N. Howard *53

Louis Howard, professor emeritus of mathematics at MIT and retired professor emeritus at Florida State University, died June 28, 2015, at age 86.

Howard earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Swarthmore in 1950 and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton in 1953. He joined MIT in 1955, became a full professor of mathematics in 1964, and retired in 1984. His tenure coincided with the expansion of the physical applied math group at MIT, of which he was a central figure.

After retiring from MIT, Howard joined FSU as a professor of mathematics and affiliate professor of mechanical engineering. In 1986, he was appointed to an FSU Foundation professorship, and he retired from FSU in 1996. Howard had helped establish the foundations of geophysical fluid dynamics.

He became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1965 and the American Physical Society in 1984. In 1977, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1997, he was honored with the fluid dynamics prize of the American Physical Society.

Howard is survived by his ex-wife, Alice, to whom he had been married for almost 50 years; and four of their five children.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.