I recently found out with tremendous sadness that Florin Diacu, a dear friend and former colleague during university studies in Bucharest, passed away on February 13, 2018.
Born in Sibiu, Romania, on April 24, 1959, Florin was an worldwide recognized mathematician, Vice President of the Canadian Mathematical Society, professor at the University of Victoria and Yale-NUS Singapore.
Gifted with the ability to write not only for mathematicians but also books for the general public, to deliver professional presentations that were entertaining and that made the complex understandable, combined with his adventurous intellect to explore and open new avenues of research, Florin made his strong mark. He is the author of several successful books and research papers.
He lived a short life full of love, friendship, professional accomplishments, and courage in the face of adversity.
He was a member of the American-Romanian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ARA), organized the 21th annual congress at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada, in 1996 and received the ARA award.
We had often told about what should be the new series of Libertas Mathematica, and Florin accepted to help and support the project as member of the Editorial Board.
We will miss him.
Vasile Staicu
Editor in Chief of Libertas Mathematica (new series)