Professor Michael Stephen Patrick Eastham

Professor Michael Stephen Patrick Eastham, FRSE, died on 27 October 2012, aged 74. Malcolm Brown and Desmond Evans write: Michael Eastham will be remembered as a leading mathematical analyst who contributed extensively to the theory of ordinary differential equations.

Michael was born in London on 2 December 1937. After attending Manchester Grammar School, he entered Merton College, Oxford in 1956 and graduated in 1959 with double 1st class honours in Mathematics. He then was a research student of the eminent analyst Professor E.C Titchmarsh and obtained his D.Phil in 1962; during 1959-61, he was a Domus Senior Scholar at Merton College. He was admitted to the Degree of Doctor of Science of Oxford University in 1974. After lectureships in Reading (1962-65) and Southampton (1965-69), he spent the years 1969 - 88 in the University of London, at Chelsea and then King's Colleges, being promoted to Professor in 1980. He received the Keith Prize and Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1978 and was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1982. From 1988 until 1991 he was Professor of Mathematics in Bahrain and was Honorary Research Professor at Cardi University School of Computer Science and Informatics from 1995.

Michael was a widely acknowledged authority on the spectral theory of diferential equations, and was particularly well-known for his analytical skills. He made many significant contributions to such topics as the asymptotics of solutions of linear dierential systems, the de ciency index problem, periodic problems, spectral concentration and resonances. He was the author of 124 research publications and 5 books.

Michael is survived by his widow, Heather,two sons and four granddaughters. He was a dear friend and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

- B M Brown and W. D. Evans