Jerrold E. Marsden, 68

Jerrold Eldon Marsden, the Carl F. Braun Professor of Engineering, Control and Dynamical Systems, and Applied and Computational Mathematics at Caltech (b. August 17, 1942) lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday September 21, 2010 at age 68 years. He passed away quietly at his home in Pasadena surrounded by family. Jerry was a beloved friend, colleague, teacher and mentor to an enormous number of people around the world and his passing is a huge loss on so many levels. He was a gifted professor and a true human being who wanted to share as much knowledge as he could with all who worked with him. He will be greatly missed and remembered always. 

  http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~marsden/

What a great sorrow fills my heart when such great human beings pass away. I never had an oppurtunity to attend one of his lectures, but I have enjoyed the Advanced ODEs course at Fields Institute in Waterloo, in 1992, which he helped to create, and directed until 1994. I have also  learned to love his books and his style, like in:

• Manifolds, Tensor Analysis, and Applications
• Basic Complex Analysis
• Vector Calculus
• A Mathematical Introduction to Fluid Mechanics
• Introduction to Mechanics and Symmetry: A Basic Exposition of Classical Mechanical Systems

More about Prof. Marsden in:

http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~marsden/remembrances/