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Yousef Alavi
Yousef Alavi
Born	March 19, 1928; Ahvaz, Iran
Died	May 21, 2013 (aged 85)
Alma mater	Michigan State University (PhD, 1958)
Known for	Combinatorics, graph theory
Awards	Distinguished Service Award, Michigan Section of the MAA (1987)
	Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	Western Michigan University

Yousef Alavi (March 19, 1928 – May 21, 2013)^[1] was an Iranian born American mathematician who specialized in combinatorics and graph theory. He received his PhD from Michigan State University in 1958.^[2]

Early life and education (1928–1958)

Alavi was born in the city of Ahvaz in Pahlavi Iran in 1928.^[1] He moved to the United States in 1948.^[3] There, he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University in 1953, a master's in math from the same school in 1955, and a PhD in 1958.^[3]

Career (1958–1996)

He was a professor of mathematics at Western Michigan University (WMU) from 1958 until his retirement in 1996;^[4] he chaired the department from 1989 to 1992.^[5]

Alavi was known for complaining that "this is highly irregular!" He was also a frequent host for Paul Erdős on his visits to Western Michigan. On one of these visits, these two things came together: he made his usual complaint at a time when Erdős and Ronald Graham were present. This sparked a discussion on what it might mean for a graph to be highly irregular, kicking off a line of joint research on highly irregular graphs through which Alavi obtained Erdős number one.^[6]

In 1987, he received the first Distinguished Service Award of the Michigan Section of the Mathematical Association of America due to his 30 years of service to the MAA; at that time, the Michigan House and Senate issued a special resolution honoring him.^[7]

Death and legacy

Before his death, Alavi had been dedicated to his wife and son, both of whom ended up surviving him.^[8] He was remembered for possessing "great energy", "kindness", and "good humor".^[8]

Alavi died on May 21, 2023;^[9] his health had been worsening for several months prior.^[8] A private funeral was held for him at the Riverside Cemetery at noon on May 23,^[1] and a memorial service was held for him on June 29 in the Kanley Chapel.^[3]

In remembrance of Alavi, the "Yousef Alavi Memorial Symposium" was held from October 24 to 25, 2013, on the sixth floor of the Everett Tower at WMU, as well as the Fetzer Center. It was free and open to the public.^[10] Speakers included Fan Chung and Ronald Graham, both of the University of California, San Diego.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Yousef Alavi", Kalamazoo Gazette, May 23, 2013.
^ Yousef Alavi at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
^ ^a ^b ^c "Yousef Alavi obituary | News | Western Michigan University", wmich.edu, retrieved 2026-01-14{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
^ Emeritus faculty Archived 2009-07-02 at the Wayback Machine, Western Michigan University mathematics department.
^ History of the department Archived 2009-03-01 at the Wayback Machine, Western Michigan University mathematics department.
^ Schechter, Bruce (2000), My Brain is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdős, Simon and Schuster, p. 197, ISBN 9780684859804
^ Michigan Section's Award Recipients.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mathematics People" (PDF), Notices of the AMS: 1184, October 2013, archived (PDF) from the original on 2026-01-14
^ "Yousef Alavi Obituary (2013) - Kalamazoo, MI - Kalamazoo Gazette", Legacy.com, retrieved 2026-01-14
^ ^a ^b "Yousef Alavi to be remembered during math symposium | News | Western Michigan University", wmich.edu, archived from the original on 2014-08-31, retrieved 2026-01-14

This article about an American mathematician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[:0-1] "Yousef Alavi", Kalamazoo Gazette, May 23, 2013.

[2] Yousef Alavi at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

[:1-3] "Yousef Alavi obituary | News | Western Michigan University", wmich.edu, retrieved 2026-01-14{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

[4] Emeritus faculty Archived 2009-07-02 at the Wayback Machine, Western Michigan University mathematics department.

[5] History of the department Archived 2009-03-01 at the Wayback Machine, Western Michigan University mathematics department.

[6] Schechter, Bruce (2000), My Brain is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdős, Simon and Schuster, p. 197, ISBN 9780684859804

[7] Michigan Section's Award Recipients.

[:2-8] "Mathematics People" (PDF), Notices of the AMS: 1184, October 2013, archived (PDF) from the original on 2026-01-14

[9] "Yousef Alavi Obituary (2013) - Kalamazoo, MI - Kalamazoo Gazette", Legacy.com, retrieved 2026-01-14

[:3-10] "Yousef Alavi to be remembered during math symposium | News | Western Michigan University", wmich.edu, archived from the original on 2014-08-31, retrieved 2026-01-14

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Kommunal.az

Early life and education (1928–1958)

Career (1958–1996)

Death and legacy

References

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Yousef Alavi
Born	(1928-03-19)March 19, 1928 Ahvaz, Iran
Died	May 21, 2013(2013-05-21) (aged 85)
Alma mater	Michigan State University (PhD, 1958)
Known for	Combinatorics, graph theory
Awards	Distinguished Service Award, Michigan Section of the MAA (1987)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics
Institutions	Western Michigan University