Prof Andries van der Walt passed away unexpected on 31 Desember 2008 in Stellenbosch. He was awarded the PhD degree in 1963 by the University of Potchefstroom under the supervision of Prof Henrik Schutte for a thesis entitled “‘n Bydrae tot die nie-kommutatiewe ideaalteorie” (A Contribution to the theory of non-commutative ideals). From 1980 until 1999 he was a professor in Mathematics and from 2000 to 2004 in Computer Science at the University of Stellenbosch. Through his academic leadership he made a significant contribution to the renewal and development of the mathematical sciences at our university.
Before his appointment as professor at Stellenbosch, he also lectured at Potchefstroom, RAU, and Port Elizabeth. During his academic career he published more than 42 papers in scientific journals and more than 10 students in Mathematics and Computer Science earned their PhDs under his supervision. In Computer Science he earned renown for his research into “Random Context Grammar” and in Mathematics for his work on “Matrix Nearrings”. In 1992 his contribution to Mathematics in South Africa was acknowledged by the South African Mathematical Society’s award for Research Excellence.
Andries has not only made an important contribution to Mathematics and Computer Science, but was a supportive and much-loved colleague, and we shall miss him sorely.