Mathematician Shoshichi Kobayashi (1932-2012), oldest member of the San Francisco Akamonkai dies at 80

Shoshichi Kobayashi, a professor emeritus of Mathematics Department at the University of California, Berkeley, died of heart illness on August 29, 2012. He had been on the faculty at Berkeley since 1962 when he joined the Department as Assistant Professor and was quickly promoted to Associate Professor and then Full Professor in 1963 and 1966, respectively.  He was the Department’s Chair from 1978-1981.
He received his BS in mathematics from UTokyo (the University of Tokyo) in 1953, and after one year of study at the University of Paris and University  of Strasbourg, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1956.  His research specialty was differential geometry.  He published more than 250 articles and authored 15 books.  The numerous honors and awards he received include the Sloan Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, JSPS Fellow, the Geometry Prize, and the Humboldt Prize.
Prof. Kobayashi, a resident of Berkeley for over 52 years, had been the oldest member of the San Francisco Region’s Akamon-kai, an alumni group of UTokyo. He is survived by his wife Yukiko, two daughters Sumire and Mei, two grandsons Andrew and Brendan, and two younger brothers Toshinori and Hisashi.
“Prof. Shoshichi Kobayashi regularly attended the meeting of our San Francisco Akamonkai and inspired us with his warm personality.  We would like to dedicate our next annual meeting planned for early next year to Professor Kobayashi,” said Dr. Takashi Nakamura, who attended the memorial service held in Oakland on September 8th. Prof. Hisashi Kobayashi, a younger brother of the deceased and the current president of FUTI, says, “Shoshichi graduated from UTokyo at age 21, earned his Ph.D. at age 24 and became a full professor at 34.  He was an exceptionally brilliant mathematician and has been my mentor and role model since my childhood.”
Prof. Shoshichi Kobayashi’s short biography, the remembrance speeches delivered at his memorial service held on September 8, 2012, and information about the Shoshichi Kobayashi Memorial Fund can be found at www.hisashikobayashi.com.  Prof. Shoshichi’s colleagues at Berkeley have started preparing an  entry for him in Celebratio Mathematica, a website that compiles information on distinguished mathematicians.


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