June 30, 2008
Clark mourns the loss of Professor Arthur Chou
Arthur W. Chou, professor of mathematics and computer science at Clark University, was struck and killed by a commuter train on June 25 in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
Professor Chou earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Tunghai University, Taiwan, in 1976 and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1982. He joined the Clark University faculty in 1982 as assistant professor of mathematics and computer science and was subsequently promoted to associate professor in 1989 and full professor this year. Professor Chou taught a range of classes at Clark University, including calculus, computer programming and bioinformatics. He helped establish and was the current director of the bioinformatics concentration.
Professor Chou started his career as a pure mathematician specializing in the field of differential geometry. He subsequently expanded his research interests during the 1980s and 1990s to the emerging fields of complexity theory and bioinformatics and has made significant research contributions in both these areas. Most recently, he had been collaborating with medical researchers working to develop HIV vaccines. His research work was published in a variety of leading scientific journals, including the Journal of Complexity, Theoretical Computer Science and the SIAM Journal of Computing.
At Clark University, Professor Chou was a very active member of his department and the University community. He served on numerous faculty university committees, including College Board, the Faculty Review Committee, and the Admissions and Financial Aid committee. Within the department of mathematics and computer science, Professor Chou spearheaded the development of a new computer-science laboratory.
"I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of our colleague Arthur Chou, who has taught at Clark for 26 years," says President John Bassett. "He was a key player in developing within the Mathematics Department a strong program in computer science. He will be missed."
A memorial service for Professor Chou will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chinese Gospel Church of Massachusetts (CGCM), 60 Turnpike Road, Southborough, Mass. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests memorial donations in his memory may be made to (1) Professional Educational Services International (PESI) 3536 Arden Road, Hayward, CA 94545 or sent c/o CGCM (2) United Board for Christian High Education in Asia for Tunghai University or 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1221 New York, NY 10115.