Professor Harold E. Layton, a long-time faculty member in the Department of Mathematics, passed away last November. Below is a statement from Mike Reed that was read at his memorial service:
Harold Layton was a first-rate mathematician and a deeply moral and kind man. I’ll start by reviewing his professional career. Harold received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Duke in 1986 and was a visiting member of the Courant Institute at New York University from 1986 until 1988, when he came back to Duke as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1995 and to Full Professor in 2001. He served terms as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies, and he was the Chairman of the Department from 2009 to 2015.
In his research career, he had many accomplishments using mathematics to understand the structure and function of the kidney. He was respected both by mathematicians and by kidney physiologists, and he served for a time as Editor-in-Chief of the kidney section of The American Journal of Physiology. Some physiology textbooks changed to reflect his work.
I was Harold’s thesis advisor, but we became fast friends and remained best friends throughout his life. Harold was a deeply moral man. And he also was very modest, despite all his accomplishments. I think this came from his feeling that we are all God’s children, and no one is better than anyone else. He was kind to everyone, and I never heard him raise his voice.
He was nurturing to his children, Laura and Nathaniel, and loved them deeply.
Harold had a wonderful sense of humor, and we would often sit and laugh at the crazy things that we human beings sometimes do. He was also very practical. I miss him. I miss talking to him. And I am deeply sad that his life, a truly humble and moral life, was cut short. He can no longer write in the book of his life, but we can, by remembering all his good qualities and carrying him with us.
Department of Mathematics