| Karel deLeeuw | |
| Birth Date: | February 20, 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Stanford, California, U.S. |
| Fields: | Mathematics |
| Workplaces: | Stanford University |
| Alma Mater: | Princeton University Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral Advisors: | )--> |
| Doctoral Students: | Alan H. Schoenfeld (de) |
| Known For: | Choquet–Bishop–deLeeuw theorem |
| Spouse: | Sita deLeeuw |
| Other Names: | Karel de Leeuw |
Karel deLeeuw, or de Leeuw (20 February 1930 –), was a mathematics professor at Stanford University, specializing in harmonic analysis and functional analysis.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, earning a B.S. degree in 1950. He stayed at Chicago to earn an M.S. degree in mathematics in 1951, then went to Princeton University, where he obtained a Ph.D. degree in 1954.[1] His thesis, titled "The relative cohomology structure of formations", was written under the direction of Emil Artin.[2]
After first teaching mathematics at Dartmouth College and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he joined the Stanford University faculty[3] in 1957, becoming a full professor in 1966. During sabbaticals and leaves he also spent time at the Institute for Advanced Study and at Churchill College, Cambridge (where he was a Fulbright Fellow). He was also a Member-at-Large of the Council of the American Mathematical Society.
DeLeeuw was murdered by Theodore Streleski, a Stanford doctoral student for 19 years, whom he briefly advised.[4] DeLeeuw's widow Sita deLeeuw was critical of media coverage of the crime, saying, "The media, in their eagerness to give Streleski a forum, become themselves accomplices in the murder—giving Streleski what he wanted in the first place."[5]
A memorial lecture series was established in 1978 by the Stanford Department of Mathematics to honor deLeeuw's memory.[6] [7]