In Memoriam: Hector Fattorini (1938-2025)

It is with great sadness to announce that Professor Emeritus Hector Fattorini passed away on October 20th, 2025. 

Hector received his bachelor’s degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires before completing his PhD at NYU in 1965. Hector first joined the UCLA Mathematics Department in 1967 as a Visiting Professor and gradually rose in the ranks to become a full Professor in 1977. After serving 42 years at UCLA, he retired in 2009.

He was known for his research in control theory and differential equations in linear spaces, receiving funding for his research from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for over 20 years. He was also nominated by his students at UCLA for an Innovative Use of Technology Award.

Hector’s colleague and close friend, Professor Emeritus Theodore Gamelin, wrote, “In those turbulent years toward the end of the 1970’s we spent an academic year in England, followed by my two-year chairship and family move to Santa Monica. Hector continued along his distinguished mathematical career trajectory, publishing cumulatively four books and over a hundred papers.”

Click here to read the full personal recollection on Hector Fattorini by Professor Emeritus Theodore Gamelin.

Professor Mason Porter named among the world’s most influential researchers

Thirty-nine UCLA faculty members, including UCLA Mathematics Professor Mason Porter, have been named among the world’s most influential scholars in the sciences and social sciences. The annual Highly Cited Researchers list compiled by international data and analytics firm Clarivate identifies scholars whose work has been cited most often in papers published by other researchers in their fields over the past 11 years. Those selected for this list have written multiple studies that rank among the top 1% of scholarly citations worldwide. 

Porter works in diverse topics — encompassing theory, computation, and applications — in networks, complex systems, and nonlinear systems. 2025 marks the fifth consecutive year this list has recognized Porter.

Read the full UCLA Newsroom article here.

Professor Wilfrid Gangbo Receives 2026 Award for Distinguished Public Service

UCLA Mathematics Professor Wilfrid Gangbo has been awarded the 2026 Award for Distinguished Public Service, presented by the American Mathematical Society. He is being recognized for his efforts to promote the professional careers of mathematicians from underrepresented groups, especially from the African and African-American communities.

He will be honored at an Awards Celebration on January 5, 2026, during the 2026 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Washington, DC.

“I am honored to be the 2026 recipient of the Award for Distinguished Public Service. I have always understood that none of us achieves all of our accomplishments alone and so, as far back as high school, I have been involved in outreach activities. Furthermore, the interest and recognition shown to me early in my career by more senior mathematicians had a great impact on my career, and I have been proud to be able to carry that forward,” Gangbo said in response to receiving the award.

The AMS Council established the Award for Distinguished Public Service in response to a recommendation from its Committee on Science Policy. The $4,000 award is presented every two years.

Read the official AMS news release here.