Nick Lord 8 March 2024

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Nick Lord, who died after a short illness on 1^st March 2024.

Nick was a member of the Council of the MA between 2002 and 2008.

Nick believed that there was no point in doing mathematics if you could not communicate your ideas enthusiastically to other people, and, in particular, to school pupils. His belief was reinforced by an excellent series of Teaching Notes in The Mathematical Gazette, whose objective was to suggest ways to bring depth and enthusiasm into the ordinary mathematics syllabus.

He will be particularly remembered for his 20 years in charge of the Problem Corner within the Mathematical Gazette, during which time he supervised the selection of some 250 tantalising challenges for readers of the journal to tackle. These covered topics from combinatorics, conics and constructions to polynomials, probability and packing. His comments on the solutions were both rigorous and imaginative, and he was always keen to emphasise that a published solution is never the final word – there is always something new and unexpected to develop.

In tribute to his work as the Problem Corner Editor, Nick was presented with a plaque. Fortunately it was possible to do this at his bedside and he clearly appreciated receiving it.

His untimely death has left huge gaps in the organisations he was involved in, and he will be sorely missed by everyone who knew or worked with him.

A full article of appreciation will be published in The Mathematical Gazette later this year.