Jason Sox
by Ernest E. Burniston
(from the the 1985-1986 Harrelson News)It is with mixed emotions that I announce Jason Sox's retirement. I use the work "mixed" since the Department will be losing an excellent teacher, and for those of us who had the privilege of knowing him well, we will lose an outstanding colleague. On the other hand, however, Jason will now be able to devote a good deal more time to his family and his favorite pastime, namely sailing.
For the record, Jason joined the Mathematics Department here as an instructor in 1956 at the munificent salary of $4,500. For the previous four years, he had been a faculty member at Elon College. At that time Jason weighed in at 155 pounds and listed as his hobbies photography, model building and tropical fish. While I have not seen him involved in "model" building, he has certainly pursued the the other two to his very day. Later on he listed fishing as a hobby, which I presume he did from his sailboat as he now does.
As I stated above, he joined the Department as an Instructor and began work upon his Ph.D. degree under the direction of Walter Harrington.In 1959, after completing his Ph.D. degree, he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor and in 1970 became a member of the Graduate Faculty. Over the years. Jason has excelled as a teacher and student advisor. For example, for five consecutive years, that is 1966-1970, he was listed in the top 25% of the faculty in student polls. He has been on graduate student committees for students in every program in the Engineering School as well as mathematics majors. He also made his mark as a research mathematician and wrote several papers on sequences of orthogonal functions, which were published in such prestigious journals as the "Transactions of the American Mathematical Society" and the "SIAM Journal of Mathematical Analysis". All in all, Jason has had a very fulfilling and rich professional career her at North Carolina State University.
While he is now officially retired he has consented to return and teach part-time; so while we will not have the pleasure of his company as a full-time faculty member, his students well certainly have the privilege of his outstanding instruction.
One final note - if you are ever on a boat in the Pamlico Sound and espy a white sailboat name "Argo III" with a helmsman steering with his knee, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, give him a wave since I can most assuredly say that it will be Jason Sox heading his boat into the wind looking for either bluefish or king mackerel. I know you will all join me in wishing him and his wife, Harriet, a most happy and prosperous retirement.