Today I learned that the Boston University mathematician and educator, Robert L. Devaney, died in November of last year. He was especially known for his upper level textbook, An Introduction to Dynamical Systems, first published in 1986, back in the heyday of chaos theory, and whose third edition came out in 2022. My first course in nonlinear dynamical systems was in 1994, where we used the first edition of his 1992 (much gentler) textbook, A First Course in Chaotic Dynamical Systems: Theory and Experiment. I believe it was the only math textbook (other than my first-year calculus textbook) with color illustrations. The book also featured very brief biographical profiles of some of the pioneers of chaos theory, nearly all of whom were still alive at the time. One of them was Devaney's Ph.D. advisor, Steven Smale, who outlives him. A second edition was published in 2020.
At the time I took the course, I was preparing for a summer physics project in nonlinear dynamics, and I probably read James Gleick's Chaos around this time as well. So the course was very timely, and in retrospect, the book I think was successful in at least introducing me to the field. The book was probably a bit more mathematical and less "physical" than other books I encountered then and later, so I'm not sure I would use it today to teach a class on the subject, but I would certainly refer to it in developing my lectures, and possibly cite it as supplementary reading.
I'm not positive, but I believe I did see Devaney speak once, at a New Jersey section meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, sometime in the 2000s. Unfortunately I failed to get a chance to ask him to sign my copy of his textbook, either because I forgot to bring it to the meeting, or I didn't get chance to have a one-on-one conversation. I can't remember anymore. I certainly regret the missed opportunity, but am grateful for his contributions to dynamical systems education over a distinguished career.
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