A letter from Professor Elaydi (USA) -- January 3, 2007

Dear Colleagues:

With heavy heart and great grief, I am reporting to you the death of our colleague Professor Jose Sousa Ramos last Monday, January 1, 2007, from a cancer illness.

Professor Ramos was a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon. He was very much involved in ICDEA07 until he passed away. I mourn with you a great friend and a great mathematician. Our condolences go to his family, friends, colleagues, and students. This is a great loss to our society.

His legacy and memory will stay with us as long as we live.

Sincerely,

Saber Elaydi, President, ISDE

A letter from Professor Sharkovsky (Ukraine) -- January 3, 2007

Dear Colleagues,

I am very sad to hear that Professor Sousa Ramos passed away. This is a great loss for all us.

Sousa Ramos was a very creative personality not only in science, but also in the scientific community and in the dynamical systems community, in particular. He played a significant role in the development of dynamical systems theory in Portugal. He was a researcher and teacher of academic excellence and he remains an example of great kindness, modesty, and wisdom for his friends around the world.

I and my colleagues from the institute express our deep condolences to you and to all colleagues at the Center of Mathematical Analysis, Geometry, and Dynamical Systems and at the Department of Mathematics of Instituto Superior Tecnico.

A.N. Sharkovsky
Academician of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Head of the Department of Dynamical Systems Theory
Institute of Mathematics
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

An obituary from Paulo Almeida (Portugal) -- January 3, 2007

José de Sousa Ramos

(1948 -- 2007)

José Rodrigues Santos de Sousa Ramos, mathematician of great merit, passed away on January 1st, 2007, in Lisbon. He was buried in Sobral da Adiça. His death was a huge loss for the development of mathematics in Portugal. The course of time will increase the dimension of this loss.

Born in Quarteira in 1948, he graduated in physics at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade Clássica de Lisboa where he also obtained his doctorate in Mathematics. From 1972 he was researcher at the Instituto de Física e Matemática and at the Centro de Física da Matéria Condensada, in Lisboa, at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade Clássica de Lisboa and, in the last fourteen years, he was professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico da Universidade Técnica de Lisboa.

In the memory of all the people that met Sousa Ramos it will last the noble nature of his human character made with extreme simplicity and modesty, as well as his overwhelming and systematic dedication to the students, day after day, or the memory of his delightful enthusiasm sharing his vast culture both in mathematics and physics. Moreover José de Sousa Ramos leaves a vast and remarkable written heritage, much richer than could suggest the mere counting of two hundred scientific papers in international magazines with referee. Most of his papers were in the field of discrete dynamical systems and, in particular, in symbolic dynamics.

The importance of the scientific work of José de Sousa Ramos lies in his great creative capacity and mental autonomy, sometimes putting him much ahead of his colleagues with original thoughts and afterthoughts, which, for precisely that reason, resulted in transgressive thinking and, naturally,  ideas to be later  polished. Nothing surprising for the people used to scientific reflection, and knowing that the scientific truth never erupts as a distilled potion and is, at first, a conquest made by using imperfect tools that will be perfected in the future.

We can say that José de Sousa Ramos created an actual school of mathematics, which is in itself a rare and notable achievement, like the one made half century back by the Portuguese eminent mathematician  José Sebastião e Silva whose effects still last today.

The fifteen doctorates that José de Sousa Ramos supervised and the same number still in course at the moment of his death prove the vigour of his influence. It is up to his disciples, in proper time and no delay, to clarify and divulgate the works of his master, fixing this works for the future in a systematic and organized manner. The Portuguese scientific institutions are entrusted to the task and the honour of publishing the works of José de Sousa Ramos, for the benefit of the society and community. We hope that our scientific community is mature enough to take this desideratum as a duty.

A letter from 'Kale Oyedeji (USA) -- January 4, 2007

I am sorry to hear of the passing of Professor Jose Sousa Ramos. The loss of any intellectual is a loss to the academic community. May his soul rest in peace. May God give the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

'Kale Oyedeji, Morehouse College

A letter from Professor Diblik (Czech Republic) -- January 4, 2007

Dear Colleagues,

I am deeply grieved to learn of the death of Professor Jose Sousa Ramos and I send my deepest sympathy,

Yours sincerely

Josef Diblik

A letter from Professor Ladas (USA) -- January 4, 2007

I am terribly sorry for the great loss in our community. I recommend that the ICDEA07 BE DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF PROFESSOR JOSE SOUSA RAMOS. FURTHERMORE I RECOMMEND THAT A TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP BE FUNDED (from the funds collected from the membersip fees of the ISDE) IN MEMORY OF PROFESSOR JOSE SOUSA RAMOS FOR A YOUNG MATHEMATICIAN OR A GRADUATE STUDENT TO ATTEND FUTURE ICDEA MEETINGS.

With great sorrow,

Gerry Ladas

A letter from Professor Zhu (P.R. China) -- January 5, 2007

Dear Colleagues:

I am very sorry for hearing the sad news that Professor Jose Sousa Ramos passed away and lament the Professor Jose Sousa Ramos death.

Sincerely,

Jiang Zhu

A letter from Kailash Patidar (UK) -- January 5, 2007

I am very sorry to hear this sad news. I will pray to god for peace of Prof. Ramos' soal.

Kailash

A letter from Professor Mawhin (Belgium) -- January 9, 2007

I am verry sorry about this sad new and presend my condoleances to the family and the colleagues of the esteemed Professor Jose Sousa Ramos.

Sincerely

Jean Mawhin

A letter from Professor Aydin (Turkey) -- January 9, 2007

Dear Colleagues,

I am sorry to hear of the death of Prof. Jose Sousa Ramos. I would like to express my condolences to Prof. Ramos's family, his friends, his students, and all of his colleagues.

Sincerely

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kemal Aydin
Selcuk University, Science and Art Faculty, Mathematics Department
Konya, Turkiye

A letter from Professor Guzowska (Poland) -- January 9, 2007

Dear Colleagues,

It was with deep sorrow that we learned of the sudden death of Professor Jose Sousa Ramos, a great scientist and a wonderful man. I would like to express my sincere condolences to all of you and of course to Prof. Jose Sousa Ramos family.

Sincerely,

Malgosia Guzowska
University of Szczecin

A letter from Professor Rodkina (Jamaica) -- March 10, 2008

The death of Professor Sousa Ramos is a great loss for all of us.

I never forget his gentle smile.

I would like to express my condolence to his family, friends and colleagues.

Sincerely,

Alya Rodkina

Please submit your letter to bohner@mst.edu. Please click here to go to the ISDE website.