Thomas Nevins, professor for the Department of Mathematics, passed away on Feb. 1, 2020.

Following a postdoc at the University of Michigan, Nevins joined the Illinois faculty in 2004. He was promoted to associate professor in 2009 and to professor in 2016. One of our department’s most accomplished instructors, Nevins was recognized in 2017 with the LAS Dean’s Award and the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He was an associate in the Center for Advanced Study in 2014 and received a Simons Fellowship in 2017-18. He was recognized by the American Mathematical Society as a member of the 2020 class of AMS Fellows. 

His innovative research focused on the interface between geometry, algebra and physics. He applied a geometric viewpoint and a strong emphasis on symmetries to a wide range of problems, uncovering the geometric structures underlying exotic quantum mechanical systems, relating many-body particle systems to solitonic waves, and constraining the possible shapes that arise in the study of supersymmetry in theoretical physics. Learn more →

Obituaries: Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette and Heath and Vaughn Funeral Home