Robert S. Strichartz *66

Bob died Dec. 19, 2021, in Ithaca, N.Y., after a long illness. 

He was born Oct. 14, 1943, in New York. After graduating from Dartmouth, Bob earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton in 1966 under the supervision of Elias Stein.

Bob’s first academic position was at MIT. He then joined Cornell’s Department of Mathematics, where he taught for more than 50 years. His work was on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, and analysis on fractals. Strichartz estimates are named after him. Bob was elected to the American Mathematical Society for “contributions to analysis and partial differential equations, for exposition, and for service to the mathematical community.” He developed a program to bring math enrichment to elementary students, and his conference on fractals continues to be a tradition at Cornell.

Bob played piano and composed music. He was a piano accompanist for his wife Naomi’s ballet classes and composed two full-length ballets. He composed complex original pieces for the Cornell math department music concerts. Bob also wrote poetry and a book of fiction for young readers.

Bob is survived by his wife, Naomi; children Jeremy and Miranda; grandchildren Ivy and Veery; step-grandchild Verity; and sisters Deborah and Abby.