David John Simms (13 January 1933 – 24 June 2018) was an Indian-born Irish mathematician who was a Fellow

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

and former Associate Professor of

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. Born in

Sankeshwar Sankeshwar is a town located in Hukkeri taluka, Belagavi district, in Karnataka. It is located on AH47 (Previously National Highway 4). It is about 50 km north-east from Belgaum. It is located on the bank of the Hiranyakeshi river . G ...

, Mysore (the state now known as

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

), India, he specialized in

differential geometry Differential geometry is a mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of differential calculus, integral calculus, linear algebra and multili ...

and geometric quantisation. He was a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

from 1978 and was a member of the Editorial Board of the journal ''Mathematical Proceedings of the

''.David John Simms obituary
Irish Math. Soc. Bulletin No. 88, Winter 2021, 15–22

Academic career

Simms completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics in Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 1955. He was elected a Scholar of the College in 1952, when he was just in the first year of his degree, a notable achievement. He went on to do a Ph.D. in the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

under W. V. D. Hodge. Simms lectured in

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

before returning to Trinity. He served as head of the Department of Pure and Applied Mathematics from 1991 to 1998. Simms' research interests included

and geometric quantisation.

Books and select publications

*''Lie Groups and Quantum Mechanics'', Springer Lecture Notes in Mathematics Number 52, 1968 *''Lectures on Geometric Quantization'', (with N.M.J. Woodhouse) Springer Lecture Notes in Physics Number 53, 1976 professional papers. * Geometric quantization of energy levels in the Kepler problem, D.J. Simms - Symposia Mathematica, 1974 David Simms was a member of the

since 1978. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the journal ''Mathematical Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy''.

Personal life

Simms was married to Anngret Erichson, a former associate professor and head of geography at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. They had three sons, one of whom,

Brendan Simms Brendan Peter Simms (born 1967, Dublin) is a Professor of the history of international relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. Early life Brendan Simms is the son of Anngret and David Simm ...

, is a professor of international relations at Cambridge University. As a child Simms survived 13 days at sea following the sinking of the SS City of Cairo in November 1942. He was also the nephew of Irish communist

Brian Goold-Verschoyle Brian Goold-Verschoyle (5 June 1912 – 5 January 1942) was an Irish member of the Communist Party of Great Britain who was recruited by the Soviet NKVD as a courier between its moles and their handlers in London. After being sent as a radio tec ...

. He was also the nephew of Archbishop George Otto Simms. Simms died on 25 June 2018 in Dublin.

References

External links

*
Professor Simms' WebpageTCD Scholars SiteS.S. City of Cairo websiteFlesh and Blood - RTE documentary on Goold-Verschoyle family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, David J. 1933 births 2018 deaths Academics of Trinity College Dublin Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the University of Cambridge Differential geometers Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Royal Irish Academy Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century Irish mathematicians