The Dept. of Mathematics is mourning the loss of two faculty members--Prof. Roy Rene Douglas, who died of cancer Sept. 22, and Assoc. Prof. Lawrence G. Roberts, who died unexpectedly on his 54th birthday Sept. 28.--and former faculty member Prof. Emeritus David C. Murdoch, who died Aug. 18.

Douglas's research included such diverse areas as algebraic topology, multivariate data analysis, quantum mechanics and molecular spectroscopy.

A faculty member at UBC since 1965, Douglas also worked as a consultant with University Hill Secondary School to prepare gifted young students for early entry to university.

He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

Winner of the Science Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1988, Roberts earned his undergraduate degree at UBC in 1964, returning to teach on campus in 1968 after earning his PhD at Harvard University. His early work with Barry Mazur at Harvard was an element in what is considered one of the most important mathematical breakthroughs of the century, Andrew Wiles's celebrated proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.

He is survived by his wife and mother.

Murdoch, who earned his MA at UBC and PhD at the University of Toronto, spent all but six of his years as an academic at UBC.

His contributions in mathematics were in the areas of ring theory, quasi-groups and ideal theory. His two books, Linear Algebra for Undergraduates, and Introduction to Vectors and Matrices, have been used in universities across North America.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters.