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Jonathan Mersel ’75

Student, Friend, Trustee

Bob Borrelli was my friend, my teacher, my mentor and my inspiration. Here was a man who understood deeply the joys of life – from mathematics and science, to the importance of friends and family, to working with people of make the group much greater than the sum of its parts, to the incredible blending of great wine with wonderful food. We shared each of these joys together over the past 42 two years, many times in many combinations.

Images of Bob come to mind. The first sight was a mathematician teaching physics in an experimental course – Natural Philosophy. The last sight was of a strong sprit doing what it takes to come back from heart surgery earlier this year in rehab. In between were the midnight talks in his office in Kingston, pouring at his wine tastings at the Claremont chapter of Les Amis Du Vin (where I had the best wine of my life), summer research in differential equations, a dinner he and Ursula cooked for my graduation, being at my wedding, being the faculty advisor for clinic projects I sponsored, many parties and gatherings, culminating with a wonderful outpouring of love for him at his 80th Birthday party last year. Then came the sadness of Ursula’s passing… Now Bob has left us as well…

Each of us that have gotten to know Bob loved Bob. How could we not? For to know Bob was to love him and all that he swept up with his incredible joie de vivre. Each of us has our own stories of Bob Borrelli. It is through these stories and his work – both published mathematics and personal encouragement in all walks of life – that Bob Borrelli will live with us for a long long time. We will miss the man, but treasure the memories.

Mark Huber ’94

Student, Colleague

Bob was one of the professors who shaped the way I think about the world. As an undergrad watching him teach, he always showed his delight in mathematics, and in the ways that you could tease out new ideas and symmetries in clever ways. He was always generous with encouragement and praise, and made you feel like you were on a grand journey, no matter how simple the task.

When I returned twenty years later as a colleague, Bob still had that same wonderful spirit. He’d always say hi and want to catch up on the latest news whenever we ran into each other. I will miss him.

Art Benjamin

Colleague

Bob Borrelli was like a father to me. He was the chair of the math department when I was hired. He was a voice of calm, reason, and strong support as I tried to figure out my life at HMC. He was there for me emotionally when my own father passed away early in my career. Bob had an affection for HMC, especially its students. And the students adored him right back. His presence will be sorely missed, but his impact will be felt forever.

Lisette de Pillis

Colleague

Bob’s passing is a great loss to us – his absence will leave a hole in our lives. My heart is heavy when I realize we will share no more hallway conversations or cafeteria lunches. Every encounter with Bob was a joy. He always had amazing experiences and insights to share. Bob was the epitome of generosity and graciousness. He shared, not to impress, but to enrich others. His conversations were never about himself or his abundant accomplishments, but instead he was focused on helping, guiding and mentoring. He never stopped thinking about new ways to share his love of mathematics and mathematical modeling. His work energized him, and he energized us. He was generous with his time, he was generous with his praise, he was generous with his support. He was a natural leader, but invested in bringing out leadership abilities in others. He was able to inspire enthusiasm in others through his own enthusiasm. He was straightforward, honest, down-to-earth, always kind, always gracious. There is so much more to say, but I am not able to formulate the words right now. Bob will be deeply missed.

Andrew Bernoff

Colleague

Bob was instrumental in the development of the HMC Mathematics Program. He joined the faculty in 1964 and retired in 2000 after thirty-five years of service during which time he had served multiple terms as department chair and as director of the Mathematics Clinic program (occasionally doing both jobs simultaneously). Bob played a pivotal role in the hiring of the second generation of HMC Mathematicians including Art Benjamin, Lisette de Pillis and Michael Moody. I had the privilege of teaching Fourier Analysis with Bob in my first year at HMC; he helped me understand how to teach and mentor our amazing students.

Three of Bob’s true loves in his life were his vivacious wife Ursula, a good bottle of wine, and differential equations. Ursula was a force of nature and the perfect foil for Bob’s ebullient personality. Bob’s knowledge of wine was encyclopedic, and those of us who were fortunate enough to share a bottle with Bob knew we were in for a treat, and also a short lecture on the origin and the vintage of the bottle. Bob’s passion for differential equations was shared by his longtime colleague and collaborator Courtney Coleman (and many, many others including Darryl Yong, Lisette de Pillis, Mike Moody and Ami Radunskaya). With Courtney he authored a textbook and built ODE Architect, a piece of visualization software used by a generation of HMC students. Those of us who were privileged to be at his 80th celebration got to see not only his love for Ursula, wine and ODEs but also to see how many lives Bob has touched and changed for the better.

Bob’s legacy in the department include two awards he endowed (the Giovanni Borrelli Fellowship and the Giovanni Borrelli Prize) and the Interface Journal which promotes undergraduate interdisciplinary research which has been reinvented as the online Interface Compendium. More broadly he co-founded the Claremont Center for Mathematical Sciences (CCMS) and infused the magic of the Clinic program into a summer program at UCLA, the Research in Industry Program for Students (RIPS). But his true legacy is the generations of mathematicians at HMC and beyond that he inspired to do great things.

Rest in peace Bob – you will always be loved by your colleagues and friends.

Francis Su

Colleague

Bob was an extraordinary soul. He loved his students and colleagues and his mathematical work. And he changed the conversation about the teaching of differential equations in this country. But most importantly, what I admire and appreciate about Bob was the gentle way in which his good cheer and earnest affection brought out the best in people. He had a vision to help shape a department where people like myself could flourish as scholars and as human beings.