Barth POLLAK

1928 - 17 FEB 2023

• BIRTH: 1928, Chicago, Cook, IL
• DEATH: 17 FEB 2023, Goddard House Senior Residence, Brookline, MA.

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[N34555] Barth Pollak
1928 - February 17, 2023

Barth Pollak, age 94, died peacefully in his sleep on February 17, 2023 at Goddard House Senior Residence in Brookline, MA. Barth was born in 1928 to the late Samuel and Esther (Hirschberg) Pollak in Chicago, Illinois. He received his early education in Chicago, Illinois from Bryn Mawr Elementary School and South Shore High School. He remained in Chicago to attend Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) where he received B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics. Subsequently, with a fellowship from the newly formed National Science Foundation, he migrated east to attain a Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton University in New Jersey. In 1957 Barth served for the National Security Agency on a mathematics panel of the Scientific Advisory Board. He spent his career in academia, first at the Illinois Institute of Technology, then at Syracuse University in New York and finally at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana where he remained for 37 years teaching in the Department of Mathematics. He did research in the areas of algebraic number theory and quadratic forms. He loved educating both undergraduates and graduate students. He was known for his enthusiastic and engaging teaching style for which he received multiple awards. In addition to mathematics, Barth loved music, both classical and jazz, learned ancient Greek, swam regularly and enjoyed reading about human history. Barth met his wife Helen (Schiller) at a dance in New Jersey when they were both students. The couple wed on August 22, 1954 and stayed together until Helen’s passing in 2022. They have two children both of whom became practicing physician-scientists and dedicated amateur musicians. Barth is survived by his son Martin Pollak (spouse: Patricia Correa) and daughter Eleanor Pollak (spouse: Bruce Finkelstein) and grandsons Benjamin and Samuel Pollak. A service in celebration of Barth’s life will take place in the Spring of 2023 via an online platform. Tax deductible donations may be made in his honor to Math Circles of Chicago @ https://mathcirclesofchicago.org/ or by sending a check in his name to Math Circles of Chicago, 1034 N. Wells, Chicago, IL 60610.

Posted online on March 01, 2023
Published in South Bend Tribune