I've only known Phil since last year, when I arrived in Ottawa for my current postdoc with Rick, Simon and Phil. We had the occasion to chat via zoom a lot since, as he was helping me with the delivery of an undergrad logic course. I was particularly struck by the generosity with which he shared his time, the contagious enthusiasm with which he was talking about logic, and how considerate he was towards the students (even if they weren't even his!). I unfortunately never had the chance of meeting in person. Last time I chatted via Zoom must have been in the summer, when he said that we'd "all soon have a big party together". That was the enthusiasm and willpower speaking. Now I can't help but feel like we've all been deprived of a great party indeed.

 

 

It is with great sadness that we convey the news to the category theory community that our good friend and colleague Phil Scott passed away this morning (18^th December, 2023) after a long battle with cancer.

 

Phil’s many contributions to category theory are well known. Phil and Jim Lambek essentially invented the field of categorical proof theory with a series of papers that culminated in the book “Introduction To Higher-Order Categorical Logic”, which is still the standard text on the subject. Phil’s research went well beyond these initial works: he made major contributions to theoretical computer science, linear logic, inverse semigroup theory and recursion theory.

 

Those of us who knew him personally will always think of him as a mentor, a friend and a genuinely kind soul.

 

Rick Blute

Robin Cockett

Simon Henry

 

 

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