Donald H. Hyers; Mathematics Professor at USC

Donald Holmes Hyers, 84, a retired professor of mathematics at USC. Chairman of the mathematics department from 1945 until 1950, Hyers taught at the university from 1944 until his retirement in 1978. He was a native of Los Angeles and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA and a doctorate from Caltech. He taught at the University of Wisconsin and Caltech before moving to USC. Hyers was an expert in functional analysis and applied mathematics and did research on nonlinear integral equations and a mathematical theory of water waves. His scholarly article written with K.O. Friedrichs, “On the Existence of Solitary Waves,” was considered a seminal work in the field. Hyers also wrote book reviews for the journal Mathematics Reviews. On April 13 in Eugene, Ore., of leukemia.