John E. Osborn
1936 - 2011

John Osborn was an exemplary colleague, scholar, and friend. He had been on the U-Md. faculty since 1965 and chaired the mathematics department from 1982 to 1985.

John's research concerned finite element methods, with particular emphasis on eigenvalue problems. He was a leader in introducing computational methods into undergraduate mathematics courses. He also made considerable contributions to the University of Maryland in his leadership as Mathematics Department chair and college dean.

John's friends echo the sentiments in the eulogy given by Ron Lipsman: "All of you who knew John well will understand me when I say that when it came to compassion, empathy, courtesy and grace, John was in a class by himself. All of us were truly blessed to have experienced his kindness, his loyalty, his understanding and his love."

To honor the memory of John Osborn, a memorial fund is being established at the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. His colleagues, students, and friends are soliciting donations to this fund.

The memorial fund will be used to recognize and support excellent graduate students in the AMSC, MATH and STAT programs at College Park. The intention is to create an endowment large enough to fund, in perpetuity, four annual awards. Kadir Aziz has given a substantial contribution to launch this fund. Therefore the award is called

Kadir Aziz - John Osborn Graduate Student Award

We invite you to consider making a contribution to this cause. You can do so as follows:

• contribute online
• send a check to Andrea Morris at the address below. The check should be made out to the "UMCP Foundation" with attention "Aziz-Osborn Award" in the memo line.

Contact address:

Andrea E. Morris
Assistant Dean, External Relations
College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences
University of Maryland
3141 A. V. Williams Building
College Park, MD 20742

E-mail: aemorris@umd.edu
phone: (301) 405-4572