Walter L. Craig, former director of the Fields Institute and professor of Mathematics, died on Friday, January 18, 2019, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 65. Walter Craig served as the director of the Fields Institute from 2013 to 2015, and he left an indelible mark on the Institution and its community during his tenure. Walter was a Canada Research Chair of Mathematical Analysis and its Applications and Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at McMaster University. Previously, he held faculty positions at the California Institute of Technology, Stanford, and Brown. He was an internationally recognized scholar for his work on the mathematical physics of nonlinear waves.

 

Walter began his long relationship with Fields as a visitor in the 1990s. Later, Fields would play a significant role in Walter’s research by offering support to a full year program on partial differential equations. This collaboration continued with a series of annual Young Mathematician Conferences. Walter served on the Institute’s Scientific Advisory Panel, providing advice and guidance to the directorate. He also served on the Institute’s Board of Directors from 2009-2012, and again from 2015-2016. It was in 2013 that Walter took on a leadership role at Fields. As Director, he was committed to growing the Institution, strengthening its programs and upholding and expanding its reputation internationally. His directorship came at a time of financial uncertainty, but he was successful in renewing Fields base funding and  securing new NSF support, allowing for an extraordinary breadth of programming at Fields during those years.

 

Walter obtained an A.B. in Mathematics, from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. In 2007, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2012, he became one of the inaugural Fellows of the American Mathematical Society.

 

A generous mentor, inspiring friend

 

But it is Walter’s warmth that will be remembered most. He had a remarkable ability to make every Fields visitor feel welcome. He would take the time to learn about those around him, and share his own stories and learn theirs. Walter could switch into French with ease, to better accommodate French visitors, and he’d smile to himself when these visitors could not pinpoint what part of France he was from. A regular during teatime, Walter was often at the centre of lively conversations. Walter’s affiliation with Fields continued until his final days . He was still actively involved in planning for Fields’ future, and participating in Field’s committees. Walter will be sorely missed by all his friends at Fields. Walter is survived by his wife, Dr. Deidre Haskell, also a professor of mathematics at McMaster, and his daughter, Zoe Haskell-Craig.