A final farewell to a beautiful mind
Josephine Lee
Issue date: 9/5/06 Section: News
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By the time he was in Grade 6, Robert Barrington Leigh was already
proving himself a force to be reckoned with in the world of
mathematics. He was involved in math competitions, training camps for
the Olympiad, and a Saturday math club at the University of Alberta,
where he met his future mentor, U of A math professor Dr. Andy Liu.
The young man's skills were so extraordinary, Liu invited him to weekly private sessions on the campus.
Three years later, Leigh received an honourable mention at the prestigious Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, a contest in which only a handful of high school students across Canada are invited to participate. He also published two papers in international journals and won Edmonton's annual Junior High Mathematical Contest. While still in grade 9, the young prodigy had already completed his grade 12 made requirements, and according to Liu, was reading 400-level university material.
Leigh's remarkable talent not only won him titles, prizes and accolades, but also gave him the opportunity to travel from his hometown of Edmonton to Ontario, Newfoundland, and at one point, Glasgow, Scotland to represent Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad.
It was not until he was in university that Robert Barrington Leigh began to feel his natural mathematical inquisitiveness being stifled. Liu says that in his first two years, Leigh was still able to maintain "mathematical curiosity," but as he progressed further in his study, he was forced to narrow his focus.
This development was evidenced in his performance at the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition for the three years he was at U of T. The Putnam draws some 2,000 students each year from all the top schools in North America including Princeton, MIT and Harvard. Leigh placed in the top 10 his first two years, but in his third year, he finished in a three-way tie for the 11-13 place-and out of the top ten for the first time in his life.
But regardless of his success in any endeavour, friends, peers and faculty never had an unkind word to say about the tall, soft-spoken math whiz. John Bland, Head of U of T's Mathematics Department describes Leigh as "exceptional in every way: smiling and pleasant, polite, kind and helpful to his fellow students". He was extremely well-liked, modest and always willing to help out others.
He was also incredibly well-rounded, with talents in several diverse areas. Leigh was a skilled lighting and sound technician, an avid outdoorsman and an enthusiastic pianist-a modern Renaissance man.
On Aug. 13, Robert Barrington Leigh left his Edmonton home on his medium-blue Raleigh "Cliffhanger" bike, heading for a folk music festival. He would not return. At 11:30 p.m., he sent his girlfriend a text message-the last anyone heard of him.
On Aug. 22, River Tours West owner Alan Flynn spotted a body near the north bank of the North Saskatchewan River, while working with a city drainage worker. The body was positively identified using dental records and ID found on the body, bringing the intense ten-day search for Robert Barrington Leigh to a tragic end.
There is no doubt that U of T has lost not only a brilliant mathematical mind, but also a caring and compassionate student who was an inspiration to all who met him. Robert Barrington Leigh will be deeply missed.
The young man's skills were so extraordinary, Liu invited him to weekly private sessions on the campus.
Three years later, Leigh received an honourable mention at the prestigious Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, a contest in which only a handful of high school students across Canada are invited to participate. He also published two papers in international journals and won Edmonton's annual Junior High Mathematical Contest. While still in grade 9, the young prodigy had already completed his grade 12 made requirements, and according to Liu, was reading 400-level university material.
Leigh's remarkable talent not only won him titles, prizes and accolades, but also gave him the opportunity to travel from his hometown of Edmonton to Ontario, Newfoundland, and at one point, Glasgow, Scotland to represent Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad.
It was not until he was in university that Robert Barrington Leigh began to feel his natural mathematical inquisitiveness being stifled. Liu says that in his first two years, Leigh was still able to maintain "mathematical curiosity," but as he progressed further in his study, he was forced to narrow his focus.
Robert Barrington Leigh
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This development was evidenced in his performance at the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition for the three years he was at U of T. The Putnam draws some 2,000 students each year from all the top schools in North America including Princeton, MIT and Harvard. Leigh placed in the top 10 his first two years, but in his third year, he finished in a three-way tie for the 11-13 place-and out of the top ten for the first time in his life.
But regardless of his success in any endeavour, friends, peers and faculty never had an unkind word to say about the tall, soft-spoken math whiz. John Bland, Head of U of T's Mathematics Department describes Leigh as "exceptional in every way: smiling and pleasant, polite, kind and helpful to his fellow students". He was extremely well-liked, modest and always willing to help out others.
He was also incredibly well-rounded, with talents in several diverse areas. Leigh was a skilled lighting and sound technician, an avid outdoorsman and an enthusiastic pianist-a modern Renaissance man.
On Aug. 13, Robert Barrington Leigh left his Edmonton home on his medium-blue Raleigh "Cliffhanger" bike, heading for a folk music festival. He would not return. At 11:30 p.m., he sent his girlfriend a text message-the last anyone heard of him.
On Aug. 22, River Tours West owner Alan Flynn spotted a body near the north bank of the North Saskatchewan River, while working with a city drainage worker. The body was positively identified using dental records and ID found on the body, bringing the intense ten-day search for Robert Barrington Leigh to a tragic end.
There is no doubt that U of T has lost not only a brilliant mathematical mind, but also a caring and compassionate student who was an inspiration to all who met him. Robert Barrington Leigh will be deeply missed.
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A final farewell to a beautiful mind
Abstract:
By the time he was in Grade 6, Robert Barrington Leigh was already proving himself a force to be reckoned with in the world of mathematics. He was involved in math competitions, training camps for the Olympiad, and a Saturday math club at the University of Alberta, where he met his future mentor, U of A math professor Dr....
Erica Lee
posted 9/06/06 @ 1:44 AM EST
Robert Barrington Leigh also went to Tokyo (Japan), Taipei (Taiwan), San Antonio (Texas), Calgary & Banff (Alberta) for math or programming competitions and training.
John Patrick Day
posted 9/15/06 @ 5:20 PM EST
I could think of several reasons why robert's life turns out to mean a lot to me. I feel for his family, first of all. many years ago, one of my cousins was drowned in a very tragic accident, and I know how it affected my uncle and aunt. Robert's family must be feeling at least as badly. Tjese things are very hard, and they hurt.
In that Robert was an extraordinarily promising young man, and all the expectations which go with being promising, I feel a lot in common with him. I have to say that I haven't fulfilled many of those promises, certanly not in the way that anybody, least of all me, would have believed. I'd also be very reluctant to place myself at Robert's level. But I do think I have some understanding about his concern at how his natural curiosity could not be staisfied within formal study any further. Sometimes the necessary formalities of academia can be straitjackets on some of the very greatest minds. Perhaps this might have been true of Robert.
This leads me to a difficult queston, since it has been reported in the press that Robert committed suicide, and his family apparently accept that finding. This, if true, makes a very tragic and very great loss even more tragic and even greater.
For any who have noted this, and who are thinking he may have done it, I should say that I'm not at all convinced that he did.
I do know something about depression, and particularly how it does affect bright people. bright people can be very good at hiding what may be bothering them, but they still are not able to hide the fcat that so,ething is bothering them or distracting them. There is nothing about Robert which even hints at such a thing. Moreover, the last word we have which is authentically his, the text message he sent his girlfriend the night he disappeared is not the kind of message somebody who is despondent is going to send.
It is possible that he may have been overtaken by some completely irrational impulse: this has happened to me, and had thinsg gone differently, I know nobody left behind would have ever understood why. That's because there was no reason why. My sate of mind was very different, however. Although I was beginning to recover, I was still undergoing a very major depressive crisis.
However, when I looked at the places where Robert's body was found, and where his bike was found, I have been forced to conclude that it is much more likely that he suffered a completely unintended and unfortunate accident. There are some points I'm still pursuing, but I do consider this a better explanation.
Robert was not merely a greatly respected young man, but obviously a much-loved man. he seems to ahve returned that love in full measure. It makes the loss harder if we torture ourselves that any of us who might have known him couldn't get through to him in times of trial, or that he wanted to leave us behind.
I would not discuss these things, if the report and belief were not public. I do think it matters both for his memory and for the lives of all who knew him to say that the report may well be incorrect.
I most sincerely apologize if I am intruding in an uncalled-for way.