{"634418":{"#nid":"634418","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Remembering Robin Thomas, Regents\u0027 Professor and Renowned Mathematician","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELearn about the Robin Thomas Memorial Fellowship at the bottom of this story.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Follow your passion, value your education, and work hard,\u0026quot; Robin Thomas advised graduates when he delivered Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s Fall 2016 Ph.D. and Master\u0026#39;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JsBn_qOUmxw\u0022\u003ECommencement address\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026quot;Don\u0026#39;t give up in the face of hardship, and have fun.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas, a renowned mathematician and Regents\u0026#39; Professor in the School of Mathematics at Georgia Tech, died on March 26, 2020, following a long struggle against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA world leader in graph theory, Thomas joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 1989, where he established a\u0026nbsp;remarkable legacy of research and teaching that included serving as leader of the Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. program. In 2016, Thomas received the Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award, the highest honor for a professor at Georgia Tech, recognizing more than 25 years of outstanding achievement in teaching, service, and research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas was awarded the Fulkerson Prize for outstanding papers in discrete mathematics twice \u0026mdash; in 1994 as co-author of a paper on the Hadwiger conjecture, and in 2009 for the proof of the strong perfect graph theorem. In 2011, he was awarded the Karel Jane\u010dek Foundation Neuron Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Mathematics. In 2012, he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He was named a Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellow in 2018.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas published more than 100 research papers in top journals, including Annals of Mathematics and the Journal of the American Mathematical Society. His extraordinary research record includes several major results, any one of which would be considered a lifetime highlight.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Sciences and the School of Mathematics at Georgia Tech join Thomas\u0026#39; family and friends in celebrating his life and legacy:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Renowned Mathematician\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe recent passing of Regents\u0026#39; Professor\u0026nbsp;Robin Thomas has left a hole in the School of Mathematics, and in our\u0026nbsp;hearts. Robin was known not just for his extaordinary mathematical renown, but also for his kindness and mentorship. The lives he touched are many, and we wished to share the thoughts and prayers of some of them, in tribute to a great man.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003EPace Academy Announcement\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003EI am writing to let you know that Pace parent Dr. Robin Thomas passed away on March 26 following a long and courageous battle with ALS. Robin was 57 years old. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Sigrun Andradottir, and three children: Misha Andra-Thomas \u0026#39;17, senior Klara Andra-Thomas and eighth-grader Martin Andra-Thomas.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBorn in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Robin earned his doctorate from Charles University in 1985. His passion for mathematics led him to the U.S., where Robin joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 1989. He was appointed a Regents\u0026#39; Professor in 2010, an honor given to outstanding tenured full professors.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nRobin twice received the Fulkerson Prize in discrete mathematics; he won the Neuron Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Mathematics; and he was an American Mathematical Society and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics fellow. In 2016, he was named the Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor, the highest honor for a Georgia Tech professor.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026quot;Follow your passion, value your education and work hard,\u0026quot; Robin told graduates when he delivered Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s Fall 2016 Ph.D. and Master\u0026#39;s Commencement address,\u0026nbsp;\u0026quot;Don\u0026#39;t give up in the face of hardship, and have fun.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nRobin followed his own advice and lived with passion for his family and his profession. He will be missed. Please join me in keeping the Andra-Thomas family in your thoughts and prayers as they mourn this great loss. Remind them that, despite our distance, they are surrounded by a school family that loves and cares for them.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMay Robin rest in God\u0026#39;s peace.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETributes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Robin and I first met in 1989 in Bellcore, and right from the beginning\u0026nbsp;I admired his mathematical talent and remarkable personality.\u0026nbsp;We have written three joint papers,\u0026nbsp;the first one appeared in 1990. Robin has been\u0026nbsp;an outstanding researcher and a superb speaker and mentor. Amazingly\u0026nbsp;he maintained his activity until recently; I had email communication\u0026nbsp;with him during the last few months. He will be deeply missed by all\u0026nbsp;of us.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp; \u0026mdash;Noga Alon\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Robin Thomas was a \u0026quot;lifer\u0026quot; in the ACO Program.\u0026nbsp;He was on the original Program\u0026nbsp;Coordinating Committee, and he served as the dissertation advisor of the Program\u0026#39;s first\u0026nbsp;graduate, Dan Sanders (1993).\u0026nbsp;When he stepped up and took over the leadership position\u0026nbsp;after Richard Duke retired, he was no caretaker; rather, he shepherded the Program skillfully,\u0026nbsp;preserving---even enhancing, I would submit---its position as one of Tech\u0026#39;s elite\u0026nbsp;interdisciplinary doctoral programs.\u0026nbsp;In my mind, Robin Thomas\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ewas\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;ACO.\u0026quot; \u0026mdash;R. Gary Parker\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Robin was a brilliant mathematician, a great leader of the ACO program and a wonderful colleague and mentor to students. His absence is a great loss.\u0026quot; \u0026mdash;George Nemhauser\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Robin is definitely one of the people who changed my life. I had received his enormous support since I entered Georgia Tech. It continuously benefits me even today. Robin offered me constant encouragement not only verbally but also through his action. I am very grateful that he attended my hooding ceremony even though he had become very difficult for moving. The conversation with Robin was always inspiring, and his suggestions were always comprehensive and considerate. He is a role model not only in academia but also in daily life. It is very amazing that he continuously expressed deep ideas, conducted research and provided professional service even when he was suffering serious illness.\u0026quot; \u0026mdash;Chun-Hung Liu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Robin was a remarkable human being, full of resolve and resilience. He was invaluable and inspiring as a colleague and this loss will be felt for a long time to come. He was greatly influential in shaping the ACO PhD program \u0026mdash; upholding its rigor through his research, teaching, mentoring and service \u0026mdash; making it internationally renowned and successful, and we are forever indebted to him for that.\u0026quot; \u0026mdash;Prasad Tetali\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELance Fortnow, on his blog, \u003Cem\u003EComputational Complexity\u003C\/em\u003E:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Graph Theorist and Georgia Tech Math Professor Robin Thomas passed away Thursday after his long battle with ALS. He was one of the giants of the field and a rare double winner of the Fulkerson Prize, for the six-color case of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hadwiger_conjecture_(graph_theory)\u0022\u003EHadwiger Conjecture\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and the proof of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Strong_perfect_graph_theorem\u0022\u003Estrong perfect graph theorem\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you start with a graph G and either delete some vertices or merge vertices connected by an edge, you get a minor of G. The Hadwiger conjecture asks whether every graph that is not (k+1)-colorable graph has a clique of size k as a minor. Neil Robertson, Paul Seymour and Thomas proved the k=6 case in 1993 and still the k\u0026gt;6 cases remain open.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA graph G is perfect if for G and all its induced subgraphs, the maximum clique size is equal to its chromatic number. In 2002 Maria Chudnovsky, Robertson, Seymour and Thomas showed that a graph G is not perfect if and only if either G or the complement of G has an induced odd cycle of length greater than 3.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERobin Thomas was already confined to a wheelchair when I arrived at Georgia Tech in 2012. He was incredibly inspiring as he continued to teach and lead the Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. program until quite recently. Our department\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/e4FdY9eiWDs\u0022\u003Edid the ALS challenge\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;for him. In 2016 he\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/provost.gatech.edu\/updates\/thomas-earns-top-faculty-honor\u0022\u003Ereceived\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award, the highest honor for a professor at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;He\u0026#39;ll be terribly missed.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMatt Baker, on his blog:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy previous post was about the mathematician John Conway, who died recently from COVID-19. This post is a tribute to my Georgia Tech School of Mathematics colleague \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/math.gatech.edu\/news\/robin-thomas-tribute-0\u0022\u003ERobin Thomas\u003C\/a\u003E, who passed away on March 26th at the age of 57 following a long struggle with ALS. Robin was a good friend, an invaluable member of the Georgia Tech community, and a celebrated mathematician. After some brief personal remarks, I\u0026rsquo;ll discuss two of Robin\u0026rsquo;s most famous theorems (both joint with Robertson and Seymour) and describe the interplay between these results and two of the theorems I mentioned in my post about John Conway. \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mattbaker.blog\/2020\/04\/19\/colorings-and-embeddings-of-graphs\/\u0022\u003ERead more.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERobin Thomas Memorial Fellowship\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMay 15, 2020: \u003C\/em\u003EDear Friends, In memory of Regents\u0026#39; Professor Robin Thomas, family and friends are raising funds to support a graduate fellowship in the Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization (ACO) Ph.D. program at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas, a renowned mathematician and Regents\u0026#39; Professor in the School of Mathematics at Georgia Tech, died on March 26, 2020, following a long struggle against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA world leader in graph theory, Thomas joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 1989, where he established a remarkable legacy of research and teaching that included serving as leader of the Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. program. In 2016, Thomas received the Class of 1934 Distinguished Professor Award, the highest honor for a professor at Georgia Tech, recognizing more than 25 years of outstanding achievement in teaching, service, and research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERobin\u0026rsquo;s passing has left a hole in the School of Mathematics, and in our hearts. Robin was recognized not just for his extraordinary mathematical renown, but also for his kindness and mentorship. His Ph.D. students have gone on to research positions at prestigious universities including McGill,\u0026nbsp; Princeton, University of Rome, University of Waterloo, as well as to the Tech Industry - Amazon, Microsoft, Renaissance Technologies, Walmart, etc.\u0026nbsp; Indeed he lived by his advice to Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s 2016 Ph.D. and Masters graduates: \u0026ldquo;Follow your passion, value your education and work hard. Don\u0026rsquo;t give up in the face of hardship, and have fun.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWe cannot think of a more fitting way to honor Robin\u0026rsquo;s legacy than by supporting future generations of graduate students, scholars and leaders in the ACO program. Graduate fellowships help to recruit the most promising students to Georgia Tech and support and encourage them in their full-time course of study by allowing them to focus their attention on their studies and research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you would like to make a contribution, you can direct a gift to the Georgia Tech Foundation through an online gift:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003ETo make an online gift, please go to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/development.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/development.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EThen click on the \u0026ldquo;GIVE NOW\u0026rdquo; box toward the top middle of the page.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EEnter your gift amount at the top and again in the \u0026ldquo;Other Designation\u0026rdquo; Box.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EThen in the \u0026ldquo;If other, please specify\u0026rdquo; box, put \u0026ldquo;Robin Thomas Memorial Fellowship-55D202\u0026rdquo;.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cp\u003EOnce the transaction is completed, you will receive an automatic reply indicating the transaction was successful, and thanking you for the gift.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\t\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPlease contact Courtney Ferencik (Director of Development, College of Sciences) at 404-275-2740 or courtney.ferencik@cos.gatech.edu with any questions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Sciences and School of Mathematics join Thomas\u0026#39; family and friends in celebrating his life and legacy.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The College of Sciences and the School of Mathematics join Thomas\u0027 family and friends in celebrating his life and legacy."}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2020-04-15 19:33:15","changed_gmt":"2020-05-17 20:27:48","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-04-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-04-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"590103":{"id":"590103","type":"image","title":"Robin Thomas","body":null,"created":"1491833964","gmt_created":"2017-04-10 14:19:24","changed":"1491833964","gmt_changed":"2017-04-10 14:19:24","alt":"","file":{"fid":"224813","name":"robinthomas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robinthomas.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robinthomas.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":29567,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/robinthomas.jpg?itok=Rf-B3AdN"}},"634396":{"id":"634396","type":"image","title":"Robin Thomas with Family","body":null,"created":"1586969831","gmt_created":"2020-04-15 16:57:11","changed":"1586971196","gmt_changed":"2020-04-15 17:19:56","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241408","name":"robin_with_family_ai.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robin_with_family_ai.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robin_with_family_ai.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1275022,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/robin_with_family_ai.png?itok=GQyY-I5D"}}},"media_ids":["590103","634396"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~thomas\/","title":"School of Mathematics: Robin Thomas"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/robin-thomas-named-siam-fellow","title":"Robin Thomas Named SIAM Fellow"},{"url":"https:\/\/math.gatech.edu\/news\/thomas-earns-top-faculty-honor","title":"Thomas Earns Top Faculty Honor"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2010\/06\/24\/robin-thomas-earns-distinction-named-regents-professor","title":"Robin Thomas Earns Distinction, Named Regents\u0027 Professor "},{"url":"https:\/\/blog.computationalcomplexity.org\/2020\/03\/robin-thomas.html#links","title":"Lance Fortnow: Remembering Robin Thomas"},{"url":"https:\/\/mattbaker.blog\/2020\/04\/19\/colorings-and-embeddings-of-graphs\/","title":"Matt Baker: Remembering Robin Thomas: Colorings and Embeddings of Graphs"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"105","name":"Robin Thomas"},{"id":"2612","name":"Graph Theory"},{"id":"19401","name":"Regents Professors"},{"id":"181615","name":"in memoriam"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"2748","name":"mathematics"},{"id":"6010","name":"combinatorics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:comm@math.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESal Barone\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAcademic Professional and Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSchool of Mathematics\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}