2021

Duane Kouba stands with a group of young men at an outdoor public basketball half-court in the Philippines. Two young men hold up basketballs proudly, and one holds a thumbs up.

Life After Retirement: Duane Kouba

I started my Lectureship in the Department of Mathematics at UC Davis in 1982 and reluctantly retired in the spring 2021. During that time I also spent 18 years as a member of the UC Davis Men’s Basketball coaching staff, highlighted by a Division II National Championship in 1998, an exciting four-year transition from Division II to Division I, and becoming a member of the Big West Athletic Conference. It was a long, busy, and rewarding journey with many ups and downs.

Craig Tracy stands outside on a cloudy day, on the top of a grassy hill. His hand is outstretched to a large rough boulder. An island floats in the ocean in the distance.

For Craig Tracy's Retirement

  • by Barry McCoy, Distinguished Professor, Stony Brook University

Craig was my first graduate student. He has had an extremely productive and distinguished career. Over the decades since I first met Craig we have shared many adventures together. It is hard to believe that he is retiring.

Washek Pfeffer in brown sunglasses smiles while sitting at his desk in an office, a bookshelf with math books behind him. On the desk leans an art photo of a forest scene.

In Memoriam: Washek Pfeffer

 

Our colleague Washek Pfeffer passed away on January 3, 2021, he was 84. Born in Prague as Václav Franticek Pfeffer on November 14, 1936, he changed his name to Washek Pfeffer when he became a US citizen in 1970. He joined the UC Davis Department of Mathematics in 1966, retiring in 1994.

One of Washek’s middle school classmates later rose to prominence, Václav Havel, the famous playwright and President of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and of the Czech Republic (1993-2003). Washek and Václav became close friends in the 1950s.

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