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Lawrence Sirovich
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for Lawrence Sirovich
3 Entries
Martin maxey
Yesterday
I met Larry when I joined Applied Mathematics at Brown as an assistant professor in 1982. He was a mentor and advocate for me in the department and we had common interests in fluid dynamics and related topics. I will always be grateful for his support and advice. Tuesdays were the days for the fluids seminars usually followed by dinner with the speaker. There were always interesting discussions. During the days of the week he was at Brown he would invariably fit in a game of tennis.
Larry made substantial scientific and mathematical contributions that have become mainstream knowledge for which he will be remembered. He left an academic legacy at Brown that continues to this day.
Paul Newton
September 19, 2025
When I arrived at Brown to pursue my PhD in Applied Mathematics, I didn´t yet know who would become my advisor. In that first year, as I was searching and sorting through several options, taking reading courses with experts in different fields, four things about Larry stood out immediately:
He could take on any scientific problem - even far outside his specialty - and within minutes offer insightful, elegant, and mathematically creative ways to approach it. I knew I would be inspired by this.
He carried an endless curiosity and openness to new ideas. His scientific courage was something I deeply admired and hoped to learn from.
He was a brilliant expositor. His lectures were fresh, clear, and full of elegance - a model for how I wanted to communicate science.
And he was funny. I had never met a scientist with such seriousness of purpose combined with such a gift for humor. I´ll admit, I was jealous. One of my favorite examples came from the way he described learning mathematics. At first, complex ideas feel utterly impenetrable. Then, after long effort, they suddenly seem obvious - as if they had been sitting in plain sight the whole time. Larry captured that strange, almost magical shift with a line that was pure Larry: "It´s obvious... to those to whom it is obvious."
I knew then he would be the right advisor for me, and I was right. Together we dove into a problem in turbulence theory - a field in which, as he candidly told me, neither of us were experts. We enjoyed every step of working through it, and looking back, I see how profoundly that experience shaped my own scientific path.
I am forever grateful to Larry - for his brilliance, his generosity, and the joy and excitement he brought to science. I will miss him very, very much and send my love and condolences to Carole, Brenda, Matt, and his extended family and friends.
Paul Newton PhD Brown 1986
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