Charles E. M. Pearce

Charles E. M. Pearce
Charles Pearce in 2001. (Photo: Andrew G. Allison)
Born	(1940-03-29)29 March 1940 Wellington, New Zealand
Died	8 June 2012 (2012-06-09) (aged 72) Manakaiua River, West Coast, New Zealand
Residence	Australia
Nationality	Australian-New Zealand
Fields	Mathematician
Institutions	The University of Adelaide
Alma mater	Victoria University of Wellington University of New Zealand Australian National University
Doctoral advisor	Pat Moran
Known for	Probabilistic modelling
Notable awards	ANZIAM Medal (2001) ASOR Ren Potts Award (2007)

Charles Edward Miller Pearce (29 March 1940 – 8 June 2012) was a New Zealand/Australian mathematician. At the time of his death on 8 June 2012 he was the (Sir Thomas) Elder Professor of Mathematics at the University of Adelaide.

Pearce was born in Wellington. His early schooling was in Wellington and he was dux of Hutt Valley High School in 1957. He earned his Bachelor of Science (a double major in Applied and Pure Mathematics and a further double major in Physics and Mathematical Physics) and in 1962 he earned a Masters of Science with first class honours in Mathematics, all from Victoria University of Wellington. The bachelor's degree was from the University of New Zealand, as the constituent colleges of UNZ, of which Victoria University College was one of four, had proliferated into four autonomous Universities by the time Pearce completed his master's degree.

Pearce always remained proud of his New Zealand origins. Being descended from Maori people, he claimed his New Zealand ancestry was longer than almost all his peers from New Zealand.

Pearce is descended from Alexander Gray, one of just five Scots who settled in New Zealand as part of the original and largely strong interest in Maoritanga and claimed ancestral connection to three waka (canoes) in the heke (migration): Aotea, Kurahaupo and Takatimu. His principal tribal connection was with the Ngati Ruanui, based in the southern Taranaki.

In 1963 Pearce left New Zealand for doctoral study at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, under the supervision of Pat Moran. Thereafter followed short stints (1 to 3 years) as Lecturer at: ANU; University of Queensland (visiting Professor); Université de Rennes 1, France; and University of Sheffield (1966–68). He was appointed to the University of Adelaide in 1968 and remained there for the ensuing years, having been promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1971, Reader in 1982 and Professor in 2003. He was a leading figure in the Department of Applied Mathematics there, being appointed in 2005 to the Elder Chair of Mathematics.