Mohammed Abdul Malik

We are saddened at the news that our former colleague, Mohammed Abdul Malik, died on March 7 while on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Dr. Malik began a 30-year career at the university when he joined the Mathematics Department at Sir George Williams in 1967, after receiving his PhD at the Université de Montréal.

He was an active researcher in functional analysis, a scholar of the history of mathematics, and served the department in many administrative positions, including chair.

He will be remembered for his kindness, his passion for his discipline, and his love of teaching. He was particularly interested in the quality and content of our courses, and in making mathematics more accessible to students who are not mathematics specialists.

In the early 1990s the department adopted his fundamental modifications to the way we teach calculus by implementing what is known as the reform approach.

In the past few years, Dr. Malik was afflicted by a worsening case of Parkinson’s disease. With a lot of courage and determination, he continued to teach, advise honours students, and direct students’ theses, even after he opted for early retirement. He will be missed by his many colleagues and students.

Our sympathy goes to his family.

Dr. Joel Hillel
Chair, Mathematics and Statistics