I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
This is very sad news. Ronnie was a huge influence on a whole generation of British category-theorists, including myself. His enthusiasm for the subject shone through any conversation one had with him, even if at times his lack of `small-talk' on any subject other than mathematics could become a little wearing. He'll be much missed! Peter Johnstone ________________________________ From: Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, December 7, 2024 6:14 PM To: Categories mailing list <categories@mq.edu.au> Subject: Death of Ronnie Brown. I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files | Leave group | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups ________________________________ From: Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, December 7, 2024 6:14 PM To: Categories mailing list <categories@mq.edu.au> Subject: Death of Ronnie Brown. I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files | Leave group | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
Dear Tim You have my deep sympathy. Please convey my condolences to Marcus and Ronnie's family. I will remember the date because 6 Dec is the anniversary of my Father's death in 1969 (at age 58). We can be happy to know that Ronnie saw the recognition and justification of his commitment to groupoids. I was convinced in the 1970s by his innovative book on topology which I used as a text in an honours course at Macquarie. Over the years we became very good friends and colleagues. I visited Ronnie in Bangor and he visited us at Macquarie; these were not just short visits, some were for very memorable conferences. Ronnie showed me over Welsh castles and nature sites on his beloved Anglesey as we talked We had some mildly differing views at times on mathematics. Ronnie alway emphasised the need to be able to calculate, and crossed modules and their variants were good for that. Another pet topic was the van Kampen theorem which he extended using n-tuple groupoids. Once Ronnie said it would be nice for Macquarie to have one of John Robinson's mathematical sculptures. I thought this out of the question because of the cost. However, Ronnie pushed it through. The story is here: https://amusine.typepad.com/journeys/journey.html Well before Zoom, Ronnie was making use of video links. We could give lectures linked live to all the Welsh universities. Ronnie wanted to link with our Australian category seminar but that did not work out because of time differences and the speed of electrons. The point is that Ronnie aimed high! And mostly achieved it, perhaps after some time. It is very sad to lose another great pillar of the categorical community. Ross On 8 Dec 2024, at 5:14 am, Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com> wrote: I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
Dear Timothy, This is very sad news. My motivation to build algebraic model of cubical weak higher structure started with a discussion I had with Ronnie in Genoa in 2010, I remember during this discussion, that he wondered if it was possible to develop a cubical version of globular operads à la Batanin. Fews years later I wrote several papers giving a positive answer to his questions. Also Ronnie tried to explain me many aspects of his huge work by email. Camell. Le sam. 7 déc. 2024 à 19:32, Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com<mailto:t.porter.maths@gmail.com>> a écrit : I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files | Leave group | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
I will miss Ronnie dearly. I was walking around in Como, Italy in 1990 and this fellow walked up to me and asked in English "Are you a mathematician?". This was Ronnie Brown. He had just been mugged in Milan and was looking for a sympathetic ear. I was instantly a long-lost friend! We had a lovely afternoon together. A few years later, Ronnie regained the rights for his textbook and I volunteered to type it in for an electronic edition. On Sat, Dec 7, 2024 at 1:32 PM Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com<mailto:t.porter.maths@gmail.com>> wrote: I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files | Leave group | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
Dear Tim, My condolences to you and his family; I met Marcus once, at Ronnie’s home. I am deeply indebted to Ronnie, for his work on homotopy, groupoids and higher groupoids. He combined and interwove algebraic topology and category theory in profound ways; his enthusiasm was engaging. Marco ---------- You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. Leave group: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27
Dear Tim, I also express my condolences. Ronnie was a source of inspiration, his research was and will remain a reference point and his friendly attitude was a precious encouragement to deepen the relationshios between algebraic topology and category theory. Alberto ---------- You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. Leave group: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27
Dear Tim and All, This is a very sad news. I met Ronnie for the first time when I was a PhD student, while attending a conference he co-organized at the Razmadze Mathematics Institute of the Georgian Academy of Sciences in Tbilisi. During our discussions, he encouraged me to learn more about higher categorical structures. Ronnie pioneered many insights about the deep connections between higher structures and homotopy theory. He will be missed. Best wishes, Simona. Il 07/12/2024 18:14 GMT Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com> ha scritto: I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
This is very sad news, and he will be deeply missed. Everyone from the University of Wales will certainly remember Ronnie as a larger-than-life character. After doing a Masters in knot theory with Ronnie, I started a PhD with him in algebraic topology. Although I soon decided that I was better suited to categorical logic, inverse semigroups, and theoretical computing, he was keen to support me in whatever direction I took. He made it clear that he had no hard feelings towards me swapping subject & supervisor, and went out of his way to introduce me to people in my chosen fields. Somewhat ironically, I later ended up using exactly the topics he had been teaching me about (topology, homotopy, and of course higher-dimensional groupoids) in my new fields anyway. I suspect that this wasn't entirely unexpected to him. As well as his mathematical achievements, which are many, we should also remember his work in fighting against the closure of the Mathematics Dept. at Bangor. Peter On 12/7/24 19:14, Timothy Porter wrote: I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
Sad news, indeed. Though he influenced some of my research and very much the way I teach fundamental group(oid)s in our first-year topology sequence, my main remembrance of Ronnie is purely personal from the occasion of his visit to K-State to deliver the 2012 William J. Spencer Lecture. I think it may well have been his last overseas trip — we had to arrange for car service between his home and Manchester Airport as a condition for his accepting the invitation. At the time, one of my colleague Louis Crane's dissertations students, Dany Majard, was working on cubical higher categories, and it was at his suggestion that we approached Ronnie, who not only came to give the lecture, but stayed the rest of the week to work with Dany. I remember discussing a recent visit my family had made to Wales with him and discovering that, according to Ronnie, the Indian restaurant we had happened upon for dinner in Llandudno was that best Indian restaurant in North Wales. Ronnie, I'm afraid, had the misfortune during his visit of accepting an invitation from our undergraduate program secretary to attend our Friends of Mathematics banquet, which happened two days after his lecture. His description of the evening's awards ceremony is etched in my memory. All of you who knew Ronnie can imagine him saying it: "What a boring ceremony! I don't think it would possible to design a more boring ceremony!" (I quote him whenever the same secretary asks me if I'm going to more recent iterates of the banquet.) Memory eternal! Best Thoughts, D.Y. ________________________________ You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
I spent six months in Bangor with Ronnie and Tim, enjoying the mathematics, the place and, above all, the company. They were months that I will not forget. Thanks Manuel Bullejos ---------- You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. Leave group: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27
Dear Professor Tim Porter, I am saddened to hear about the death of Professor Ronnie Brown. Please convey my heartfelt condolences to his family! As you know, I have had the good fortune of corresponding with him for over two decades; Professor Ronnie Brown was instrumental in what must have been the first international conference to bring together category theoreticians and cognitive neuroscientists (https://conceptualmathematics.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ictn....). Professor Ronnie Brown was also kind enough in helping me understand category theory, while I was teaching Lawvere & Schanuel Conceptual Mathematics at The Salk Institute (https://conceptualmathematics.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/from-function-to-cate...). More than anything else, I admired his ability to speak truth without being biased (during one too many debates that often erupted on category theory mailing list). All the more important for me was his ability to make what seemed like "it'll take me quite a few lifetimes to understand" comprehensible. In this spirit, I'd like to recollect his long standing commitment to the popularization / outreach / usability of mathematics: Out of Line https://groupoids.org.uk/outofline/outofline.pdf (just in case ...) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p76YRSfInVpgTxf7HdTQ3rbrfq566wnR/view?usp=s... The intuitions of higher dimensional algebra for the study of structured space https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02963404 In the above, what I found particularly fascinating (not to mention that it's in the Newtonian spirit of compounding after resolution) is understanding a space beginning with subdivision followed by algebraic inverse to subdivision or (with the algebraic operation such as) composition defined under geometric condition(s): source (b) = target (a). I'd also like to note that there is a Special Issue Dedicated to Ronald Brown for his 80th Birthday: https://link.springer.com/journal/40062/volumes-and-issues/11-4 My heartfelt condolences to you Tim; it must be difficult given your [almost] lifetime collaboration. Thanking you, Yours truly, posina On Sun, Dec 8, 2024 at 12:02 AM Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com> wrote:
I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy.
Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie.
Thanks,
Tim Porter.
You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
Hello Tim, I am deeply saddened by Ronnie's death. I recall that Ronnie played a central role in organizing over many years the Bangor-Bielefeld Seminar which brought together mathematicians from Europe as well as South America, Asia, and Australia to share results in topology, homotopy theory , homological algebra, algebra ,and K-theory, using a blend of ideas and methods from category theory and all of the above areas. He will certainly be missed. Please give my condolences to his family. Tony On Sat, Dec 7, 2024 at 7:32 PM Timothy Porter <t.porter.maths@gmail.com<mailto:t.porter.maths@gmail.com>> wrote: I have been asked by his son Marcus to inform his friends on the Categories mailing list that Ronnie Brown who was for many years professor at the University College of North Wales (later renamed the University of Bangor) died yesterday at his home in Deganwy. Please share this information with others who may have known Ronnie. Thanks, Tim Porter. You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files | Leave group | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Categories mailing list group from Macquarie University. To take part in this conversation, reply all to this message. View group files<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=files&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Leave group<https://outlook.office365.com/owa/categories@mq.edu.au/groupsubscription.ashx?source=EscalatedMessage&action=leave&GuestId=6bf90c14-94d1-45b7-a0b5-9dd447734d27> | Learn more about Microsoft 365 Groups<https://aka.ms/o365g>
participants (13)
-
Alberto Peruzzi -
Anthony Bak -
Camell Kachour -
David Yetter -
La Monte H. P. Yarroll -
Manuel Bullejos -
Marco Grandis -
P.T. Johnstone -
Peter Hines -
Posina Venkata Rayudu -
Ross Street -
simona.paoli＠virgilio.it -
Timothy Porter