Teck Lim, Associate Professor, Mathematical Sciences, COS
Mathematics professor Teck-Cheong (TC) Lim passed away from liver cancer Oct. 20, 2014. He was 64.
Born in Singapore in 1950, Lim graduated from Nanyang University at age 20 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and honors. Five years later, he received a PhD and an Izaak Killam Fellowship from Dalhousie University. Next, Lim moved to the United States, having been awarded the prestigious postdoctoral L. E. Dickson Instructorship in Mathematics at the University of Chicago, where he was a visiting professor. In 1979, he joined the mathematics faculty at George Mason University, where he ultimately acquired tenure and taught mathematics as a professor for the past 35 years.
A voracious learner and student of the discipline, Lim had a brilliant mind for numbers and a natural passion for solving the world’s hardest math problems. He was probably best known for his original research in the field of nonlinear functional analysis and fixed point theorems.
For Lim, sharing knowledge and learning were reinforcing responsibilities. According to Lim, “[Teaching] is important in not only educating the students, but also reinforcing the knowledge of the teacher as well. Sometimes a professor gains new perspectives to old concepts or learns details that he missed in past learning. Of course, the primary objective of teaching is to educate. In our current society, skilled workers are in higher demand. It is important for an educator to prepare students for this new environment.”
Lim is survived by his wife of 40 years, Lay Hua Lim, a senior fiscal coordinator in the University Libraries; two sons, Vincent and Robin Lim; and grandson, Carter Lim. He has two surviving sisters, Boon Tan and Koh Bee, and four surviving brothers, Kim Beng, Teck Seng, Seng Wah, and Seng Tiong.