José Barros-Neto, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, died peacefully at his home in Novi, Michigan on January 14, 2020. He was a consummate mathematician for 92 years and enjoyed a fulfilling career at Rutgers for 31 years until his retirement on January 1, 2000. Math was in his bones, and not one of his four children or four grandchildren could turn 7, 11, 13, 17, and so on without being reminded that they were celebrating a “prime” birthday.
He received his Ph.D. in 1960 from Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, where he met his beloved wife of 70 years, Iva Borsari Barros. In his early career, he studied at the Sorbonne, and Yale University. He was named a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow in 1961 and 1962 in Field of Mathematics, Latin America & Caribbean. Research, teaching, and three growing girls occupied his time at Brandeis University, the University of Montreal, Rochester Institute of Technology and back to the University of São Paulo. His long career at Rutgers began in 1968, when the family settled in Princeton, NJ, and a son soon followed. He was honored to take sabbaticals at The Institute for Advanced Studies, in Fall 1971 and 1989-1990. He was dedicated to his research interests in functional analysis, and partial differential equations. He valued his many friends and collaborators in the field of mathematics.
José’s family was truly a Rutgers family. His wife, Iva, earned her Masters Degree in French Literature at Rutgers University. All four of his children, and one son-in-law, graduated from a Rutgers University affiliated college. During his tenure at Rutgers, José authored four books, College Algebra and Trigonometry with Applications, An Introduction to the Theory of Distributions (Pure and Applied Mathematics), Hypoelliptic Boundary-Value Problems (Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics) and College Algebra with Applications. His textbooks became quite popular with students. José was particularly proud to hear from a student in China who had obtained a copy of An Introduction to the Theory of Distributions and was finally able to understand the concept. That student became a mathematician and was inspired to translate the book into Chinese.
José was an avid soccer fan, in particular, Brazilian soccer. He enjoyed traveling in the United States and abroad. Reading, painting, gardening, and classical music were among his diverse interests. José, and his family, enjoyed spending relaxing summers in Cape Cod, and later, Martha’s Vineyard. This was where he would reconnect with collegial friends. He loved the quiet beauty of Martha’s Vineyard and featured his favorite spots in several figures in his books.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Iva, who passed away peacefully on November 30, 2019 at their home in Michigan. He is survived by his four children, Carmen, Claudia, Marilia and André, their spouses, Jack, Tom, Michael and Marlena, and four wonderful grandchildren, Colin, Kevin, Alexandria and James. José is also survived by his loving family in Brazil, his brother and two sisters, and their families.