John Mackintosh Howie

John Mackintosh Howie (23 May 1936 – 26 December 2011) was a Scottish mathematician and prominent semigroup theorist.

Biography Howie was educated at Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen and Balliol College, Oxford, where he wrote a Ph.D. thesis under the direction of Graham Higman.

In 1966 the University of Stirling was established with Walter D. Munn (fr) at head of the department of mathematics. Munn recruited Howie to teach there.

He won the Keith Prize of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1979–81. He was Regius Professor of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews from 1970 to 1997. No successor to this chair was named until 2015 when Igor Rivin was appointed.

Howie was charged with reviewing universal, comprehensive secondary education in Scotland, which was viewed as failing its students. Impressed with education in Denmark, his committee proposed a tracking scheme to improve academic outcomes, and communicated recommendations in Upper Secondary Education in Scotland (1992).

Public appointments Mathematics Panel, Scottish Examination Board 1967–1973; Convener from 1970 Chairman, Scottish Central Committee for Mathematics 1975–1981 President, Edinburgh Mathematical Society 1973–74 London Mathematical Society: Council 1982–1988, 1989–1992 Vice-president 1986–1988, 1990–1992 Chairman of Education Committee 1985–1989 Chairman of Public Affairs Committee 1990–1992 Member of Dunning Committee 1975–1977 Chairman of Governors, Dundee College of Education 1983–1987 Governor, Northern College of Education 1987–2001 Chairman, Scottish Mathematical Council 1987–1993 Chairman, Committee to review fifth and sixth years (Howie Committee) 1990–1992 Council, Royal Society of Edinburgh 1992–1995 Chairman, Steering Committee, International Centre for Mathematical Sciences 1991–1997

Books 1976: An Introduction to Semigroup Theory, Academic Press 1991: Automata and Languages, Clarendon Press 1992: Upper Secondary Education in Scotland (Howie Report) 1995: Fundamentals of Semigroup Theory, Clarendon Press 2001: Real Analysis, Springer books 2003: Complex Analysis, Springer books 2006: Fields and Galois Theory, Springer books