In memoriam: Ahmed Sourour

Ahmed Sourour

We sadly announce that our retired colleague Ahmed Sourour has passed away after a serious illness.  Ahmed was a faculty member from 1979, first as a visitor, until his retirement in 2019.  When he applied for a position in the department, a colleague known for making meticulous notes on applicant files abruptly stopped and wrote "Hire him!".  Ahmed was a wise colleague with a calm presence.  The Honours students loved him.  He could teach any classes, often back to back, without notes or error.  When assigned to teach 8:30am classes, the question was not whether he was willing, but rather whether he could stay up that late.  His publications were mostly in operator theory, linear / multilinear algebra and functional analysis.  According to MathSciNet, his last paper was in 2021 in Semigroup Forum. Condolences to his family and others close to him.  Rest in peace Ahmed.

Mourad Ismailretired math professor at the University of Central Florida:  Ahmed Ramzi grew up in a little village in the delta part of Egypt and his father died when he was an infant. He had a difficult life but excelled in school. In the grade 9 competition he ranked among the top 5 in his district, which entitled him to go to a special high school for talented kids. The Egyptian government paid room and board, gave the students some pocket money and even clothed them.  We met at Cairo University in 1960 when we were both freshmen and 16 years old. Again the government gave tuition waivers and a substantial fellowship to students with high grades. He had that all through college. He graduated as top student in the College of Science and went to a special celebration where the president (Nasser) shook his hands and gave him and every top student in all faculties of Cairo