Paul Joseph Sally, Jr. (January 29, 1933 – December 30, 2013) was a professor of
mathematics at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, where he was the Director of Undergraduate Studies for 30 years.
His research areas were
''p''-adic analysis and
representation theory
Representation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebraic structures by ''representing'' their elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies modules over these abstract algebraic structures. In essen ...
.
He created several programs to improve the preparation of school mathematics teachers, and was seen by many as "a legendary math professor at the University of Chicago."
Life and education
Sally was born in the
Roslindale
Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan.
It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby J ...
neighborhood of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
on January 29, 1933.
He was a star basketball player at
Boston College High School
, motto_translation = ''So they may know You.''
, address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard
, city = Boston
, state = Massachusetts
, zipcode = 02125
, country ...
.
He received his
BS and
MS degrees from
Boston College in 1954 and 1956.
After a short career in Boston area high schools and at Boston College
he entered the first class of mathematics graduate students at
Brandeis Brandeis is a surname. People
*Antonietta Brandeis (1848–1926), Czech-born Italian painter
*Brandeis Marshall, American data scientist
* Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, Austrian artist and Holocaust victim
* Irma Brandeis, American Dante scholar
* Loui ...
in 1957
and earned his PhD in 1965.
During his graduate career he married
Judith D. Sally
Judith D. Sally (born Judith Donovan; March 23, 1937, in Manhattan, New York) is a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Northwestern University.
Her research is in commutative algebra, particularly in the study of Noetherian local rings and grad ...
and had three children in three years. David, the oldest, is a Visiting Associate Professor of Business Administration at
Tuck School of Business
The Tuck School of Business (also known as Tuck, and formally known as the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance) is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Founded ...
at
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
,
Stephen is a partner at
Ropes & Gray
Ropes & Gray LLP is a global law firm with 13 offices located in the United States, Asia and Europe. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide, and its clients include corporations and financial institutions, government agen ...
,
and Paul, the youngest, is Superintendent at
New Trier High School.
Sally was diagnosed with
type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar ...
in 1948. The condition resulted in his use of an
eye patch
An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...
and two
prosthetic
In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
legs, which caused him to be widely referred to as "Professor Pirate," and "The Math Pirate" around the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
campus.
He was known to detest cell phones in class and has destroyed several over the years by inviting students to stomp on them or by throwing them out of a window.
Career
Sally joined the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
faculty in 1965 and taught there until his death.
He was a member of the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...
from 1967–68, 1971–72, 1981–82, and 1983–84.
While at the IAS he collaborated with
Joseph Shalika. In 1983, he became the first director of the
University of Chicago School Mathematics Project The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) is a multi-faceted project of the University of Chicago in the United States, intended to improve competency in mathematics in the United States by elevating educational standards for chi ...
, which is responsible for the
Everyday Mathematics
''Everyday Mathematics'' is a pre-K and elementary school mathematics curriculum, developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (not to be confused with the University of Chicago School of Mathematics). The program, now pub ...
program (also called "Chicago math").
He founded Seminars for Elementary Specialists and Mathematics Educators (SESAME) in 1992.
He co-founded the Young Scholars Program with Dr. Diane Herrmann in 1988, providing mathematical enrichment for gifted Chicago-area students in grades 7–12.
Death
Sally died December 30, 2013, aged 80, from
congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...
, at the University of Chicago Hospital.
[Paul Sally Jr. Obituary](_blank)
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'', retrieved 2014-01-01.
Awards
* Amoco Foundation Award for Long-Term Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 1995
[
][
]
*
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
Distinguished Service Award, 2000
*
Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics of the
Mathematical Association of America, 2002
[
]
* Fellow of the
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
, 2012.
Selected publications
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sally, Paul
1933 births
2013 deaths
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
Boston College alumni
Brandeis University alumni
University of Chicago faculty
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Boston College High School alumni
People from Roslindale
Mathematicians from Massachusetts
Institute for Advanced Study people