JUAN J. SCHÄFFER

SCHÄFFER JUAN J.
On Sunday, February 12, 2017. Beloved husband of the late Ines Schäffer; beloved father of Alejandro A. (Beth R.) Schäffer; brother of the late Eva Ruth Schäffer; grandfather of Daniel Edwin Schäffer. He did his undergraduate studies in Uruguay and his doctoral studies in Switzerland. He received doctorates in Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and in Mathematics from the University of Zürich in 1956. He then returned to Uruguay to teach engineering and mathematics at the Universidad de la República in Montevideo during 1957-1968, except for two sabbatical years in the United States. In 1968, he moved with his wife and son to Pittsburgh to take a position as Professor of Mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University, which he held until his death. He published two research monographs, two textbooks, and dozens of research papers. He was a scholar of history and combined his interests to develop a course in History of Math. He also contributed substantially to the site archontology.org that records the history of world leaders in all countries. He was fluent in English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese and had some knowledge of several other languages. He used the foreign language skills, for example, to help his late wife, Inés, host many hundreds of dinners for official foreign visitors to Pittsburgh under the auspices of the Pittsburgh Center for International Visitors. Juan and Inés also served as volunteer translators for foreign patients receiving treatment at Pittsburgh hospitals. Services at RALPH SCHUGAR CHAPEL, INC., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside on Friday at 9 a.m. Visitation one hour prior to services (8 - 9 a.m.). Interment Homewood Cemetery. Contributions may be made to United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024 or Carnegie Mellon University Department of Mathematical Sciences, Wean Hall 6113, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
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