Obituaries in Ithaca, NY | Ithaca Journal

Robert S. Strichartz

Ithaca - Robert S. Strichartz died December 19, 2021 after a long illness. He was born October 14, 1943 to Sonia Moskowitz and Harvey Strichartz. He was raised in the Bronx by his immigrant mother. He attended the Bronx School of Science and developed his talents in mathematics and music. He graduated from Dartmouth and in 1966 he finished his PhD in Mathematics from Princeton University under the supervision of Professor Elias Stein.

He met his wife, Naomi Richardson, a ballet dancer from Brooklyn and daughter of a mathematician, in 1967. They lived in Boston while he taught at MIT. He then joined the Cornell Department of Mathematics and he was a faculty member there for over 50 years.

His work was on harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, and analysis on fractals. Strichartz estimates are named after him, and he was made a fellow of the American Mathematical Society, elected in 2017 for "contributions to analysis and partial differential equations, for exposition, and for service to the mathematical community". A colleague and friend described him as "one of the pillars of analysis".

Bob's math family was very important to him. He was a mentor to many students, including summer students supported by grants he brought in to fund their research. He published over one hundred papers and several textbooks, developed a program to bring math enrichment to elementary students, and organized a conference on fractals at Cornell that continues to be a tradition. Even near the end of his life, he would dictate emails to people reminding them to finish their revisions and submit their papers for publication.

Bob also played piano and composed music. He was a piano accompanist for Naomi's ballet classes for many years, and he composed original music for her choreography, including two beautiful full length ballets. He also composed complex original pieces to which no one could possibly be expected to dance for the Cornell Math Department music concerts. Some of his music can be found on YouTube. He also wrote a book of poems (based on cryptogram poems he wrote for Naomi) and a book of fiction for young readers.

Bob loved nature and often worked on math while sitting outside at home with his dogs. Students and colleagues could find him wearing his straw hat and working while enjoying the beautiful flowers in his "outdoor office" near A.D. White House. (It was harder to find him through email, since he was, at least according to family lore, the last member of his department to get a computer, and he never exactly learned how to use it.) He maintained a large vegetable garden and cooked his own vegetarian food, including homemade bread. He would swim at Treman Park almost every day in the summer and was pleased to help Naomi feed her horses and goats on cold winter mornings.

Bob was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and friend to many. He had a quirky sense of humor and a love for life that was an inspiration to those who knew him. He kept Jewish traditions alive in his family, in his own way. He was active in his community and a Democrat who always voted and believed in equality for all. He organized music concerts in his small town of Danby, NY, writing grants to pay musicians, serving on the Danby Community Council, and donating a piano to the Danby Town Hall for future concerts. He supported many organizations, such as The Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, The SPCA of Ithaca, and the Racker Center of Ithaca.

Surviving relatives include: wife, Naomi Richardson Strichartz, children Jeremy (Sarah) Strichartz and Miranda (William Evans) Strichartz, Grandchildren Ivy and Veery, step grandchild Verity, sisters Deborah and Abby, cousins Diana, Howard, and Judy, nieces/nephew Juliet and Serena, Seth.

His family is grateful for the compassionate care from staff at Bridges Cornell Heights and Hospice of Ithaca.

Arrangements are through Bangs Funeral home and a memorial will be planned sometime in the future.