John Noye and the Development of CTAC

Abstract

At the General Meeting of the Computational Mathematics Group held during the CTAC99 Conference the following motion was proposed: This meeting of CTAC99 notes with regret the inability of Professor John Noye to be present due to ill health. The meeting expresses and records its appreciation of the driving force and foresight provided by John which led to the formation of CTAC as the most significant computation conference series in Australia. John's continued and enthusiastic support, despite medical difficulties, has not only maintained but expanded the importance of CTAC to the computational community. As a small mark of its appreciation and respect, the proceedings of CTAC99 are to be dedicated to Professor John Noye. The motion was passed by acclamation. The motion tries, but is inadequate, to do justice to a singular effort in support of what has to be a labour of love. The following notes attempt to fill in more of the detail of a remarkable record. In preparing these I have had the support of colleagues Frank Barrington, Jerard Barry, Alan Easton, Clive Fletcher, and Rob May, all of whom have contributed significantly to the Computational Mathematics Group (CMG), while Bill Summerfield extracted copies of the relevant entries in the ANZIAM minutes for me. I am extremely grateful to all of them.