Dear Colleagues,
It is with great sadness that we report the death, in the early morning of Sunday 5 March, of our colleague Jon Barwise. Since 1990, Jon had been College Professor of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Philosophy at the Indiana University, Bloomington. From 1990 until 1997, Jon also served as Director of the Indiana University Logic Program.
Jon is known worldwide for his research in logic and related fields, including philosophy, computer science and linguistics. He did work of great significance in a range of areas, including model theory, infinitary languages, semantics for natural language, visual inference and information theory.
Jon received his B.A. in Mathematics and Philosophy from Yale University in 1963 and his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Stanford University in 1967, where he was a co-founder and first director of the Center for the Study of Language and Information, and the first director of the Symbolic Systems Program. He has previously held appointments at Yale University and the University of Wisconsin in mathematics. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.
Jon was a gentle and friendly person, a remarkable man, as well as logician, and a great leader. In his struggle with his final illness, Jon became an image for all of us of true wisdom in great adversity. He will long be fondly remembered here at IU and in the Logic Program.
I will make information about memorials and/or services available as they become known to me.