2007 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient:

Al Kelley '55

Al Kelley '55 is professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. After receiving a UM degree in forestry, he went on to get a doctoral degree in mathematics at UC, Berkeley. He was a forester in Oregon and then served as a U.S. Air Force radar officer. A smokejumper during the summers while a UM student, Al first arrived in California by parachute to fight a fire in 1954. While teaching at Berkeley in 1964, he discovered and named the center manifold, and he was among the first to recognize the importance of computers in mathematical research. Al is the co-author of three widely used college textbooks on the C pro-gramming language. An avid outdoorsman, he and his wife, Carole, travel extensively.