Yeshiva University Mourns the Passing of Mathematics Department Chair

Yeshiva University mourns the passing of Dr. Thomas H. Otway, professor and chair of the department of mathematical sciences.

Dr. Thomas H. Otway

Over the course of his 25 years at YU, Otway taught a range of courses in mathematics, physics and astronomy. He earned his bachelor’s degree at New York University and his PhD at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. His research interests included elliptic-hyperbolic partial differential equations, applications to plasma heating, computational time series analysis and geometric analysis. Otway delivered lectures around the globe, including recent talks in China, Scotland, and Spain, and was the author of two research monographs on partial differential equations, both published by Springer.

Otway’s research was funded by high-profile organizations like the Department of the Navy, National Science Foundation, American Institute of Mathematics and Polytechnic Summer Research Institute. In 2015, he received the Dean Karen Bacon Faculty Award.

"Tom  was a consummate team player, a trusted advisor, a profound thinker and a writer of lyrical emails," said Dr. Karen Bacon, the Mordecai D. and Dr. Monique C. Katz Dean of Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "His belief in his students and the degree to which he would work for them and support them was legendary. I miss him so very much.”

The University will arrange a memorial service on campus to remember and honor Dr. Otway’s outstanding career as scholar and teacher; check back for updates.