Pierre E. Conner Jr. *55

Pierre Conner, retired Nicholson Professor of Mathematics at Louisiana State University, died Feb. 3, 2018, at the age of 85.

In high school Conner was the first student in Louisiana to win a National Westinghouse Award for Science. He earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in mathematics in 1952 and 1953 from Tulane University. In 1955 he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton. A postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton followed.

Conner became a professor at the University of Michigan in 1957 and joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 1958. He also was a visiting professor at MIT. In 1967, Conner was appointed one of three inaugural Commonwealth Professors at UVA.

In 1971, he joined the faculty at LSU, and spent 28 years as the Nicholson Professor of Mathematics. He published many books and articles on algebraic topology, differential topology, and algebraic number theory. In 2012, Conner became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Conner was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Diane. He is survived by two sons and five grandchildren. He was known to be as kind and generous as he was brilliant.

Graduate memorials are written by the APGA.