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Gene
Lopez and Edgar Howard both taught Mathematics at San Diego State for
over 30 years. Both also were held in high esteem, as evidenced
by comments from students, and by the awards for teaching excellence
that each received. In their
memory, the Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences is establishing
The
Gene Lopez and Edgar Howard Memorial Fund
Donations
to this fund will be used only to enhance the sense of community of
our undergraduate and graduate majors.
We feel that this is especially appropriate as a memorial to
Gene and Edgar since each of them contributed significantly to the "mathematical
culture" of our students. It is our hope that with the aid of these funds,
future students will be encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Gene
and Edgar and inspire others to pursue Mathematics as a career.
Donations should be sent to Memorial Fund, Department of Mathematical
and Computer Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego CA 92182-7720.
Checks should be made payable to: Campanile Foundation, with a memo
to the "Lopez-Howard Memorial Fund".
Gene Lopez
was
born in 1926 and grew up in La Verne, California during the Great Depression. After serving in the army during World War
II, he earned a scholarship to attend The University of California at
Los Angeles. After earning his
B.S. in Mathematics in 1951, Gene went on to obtain his Ph.D. in Mathematics
from UCLA in 1961, under the supervision of Magnus Hestenes.
Gene
came to the Mathematics Department at San Diego State University in
1961. He was
a gentle man whose quiet demeanor seemed to captivate students during
his lectures. His classes were
often on a list of most popular in the University, a distinction which
is unusual for Mathematics courses.
He won the TRW Excellence in Teaching Award in 1999.
Gene retired from teaching in the Spring of 2000.
Edgar Howard
was
born March 4, 1932 and grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. At the age of 19 he joined the Marine Corps
and served as a radio operator during the Korean War. (His elbow makes a short but significant appearance
in the movie "Battle Cry.") After his service, he returned to San Diego, where he had gone through
basic training, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Physics (1959) and
a Master's degree in Mathematics (1961) at San Diego State University. He then went into the Ph.D. program in Mathematics
at New Mexico State University. On
earning his Doctorate in 1964, Edgar spent two years at Idaho State
University and in 1966 he became Assistant Professor of Mathematics
at San Diego State University. He
rose to the rank of Professor, and he retired in 1997.
Edgar was a very fine teacher of Mathematics. He was named Most Influential Faculty Member by the outstanding
graduating Math major 3 times. Additionally,
he directed numerous Master's theses.
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