Grant Vincent Welland

Welland, Grant Vincent died this summer at the age of 73 as the result of a hiking accident in Horseshoe Canyon, a remote unit of Utah's Canyonlands National Park. A mathematician, Grant Welland worked in the field of analysis and made important contributions to Harmonic Analysis and Computational Mathematics. Over the course of his career, he shifted focus from theory to its application in mathematical modeling. At the end of a research trajectory spanning four decades, he published papers on facial recognition, electromagnetism, and medical imaging. His work as editor of Beyond Wavelets (2003) documents his influence in an area that linked mathematics and related disciplines of science and engineering. In 1971, after professorships at DePaul University, University of Madrid, and Purdue University, he joined the Department of Mathematics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. In the early decades of this new university, he contributed to its intellectual life in significant ways. He was a generous mentor and teacher who advised students in math, computer science, physics, and astronomy. His collaboration with researchers at McDonnell-Douglas led to the founding of a Master's program in Applied Mathematics. He also designed and launched a PhD program in Applied Mathematics in 1998. As Professor Emeritus, he remained active in collaborations with colleagues. His final work, motivated in part by having undergone brain surgery in 1985, involved mathematical modeling of the brain. Grant Welland was born on June 25, 1940 in Toronto, Ontario to Robert William Welland and Jane Alton Easton. He came to the United States to attend Purdue, where he received a BS in Engineering Science and MS and PhD in Mathematics. He is survived by many beloved family members, including Sasha Welland, James Tweedie and their children Lino and Zola, and Robert Welland, Jr., of Seattle; Mei Chen Welland and Ruben Aya, of St. Louis; Robert Welland, Sr., of Chicago; Anne, Bruce, and Raymond Hawkins and Catherine Mulvale, of Toronto; Pan Morigan, of Northampton, MA; Adele O'Dwyer, of Tullamore, Ireland; and Roy Welland, of New York. While supporting his daughter, Kara Aya-Welland, during her long struggle with cancer, he became a dedicated member of Team in Training, the fundraising arm of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He completed half marathons in locations from Florida to Alaska and worked tirelessly to raise funds, dollar by dollar, in front of local grocery stores and Busch Stadium. In retirement, he translated his academic interest in imaging into a passion for digital photography. He spent many days walking in Forest Park, photographing its grand aspects and hidden beauty. His love of family, photography, and nature inspired his volunteer work for Forest Park Forever and cancer research. He shared his enthusiasm, humor, and gentle compassion with many circles of people. In July he hit the road with a new camera and plans to photograph the dramatic landscapes of Utah and Colorado. He died in his quest to capture the otherworldly 3,500-4,000-year-old figures painted and carved on the rock walls of Horseshoe Canyon. He will be buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery. Services: A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at 4:00 pm on Sunday, September 15 in the Trolley Room of the Forest Park Visitor and Education Center. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Grant Welland's name to Forest Park Forever.