Professor McKenna passed away on December 29, 2021.

He received his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1976. After appointments at the University of Wyoming and at the University of Florida, he joined UConn in 1986 as full Professor and served on our faculty until 2018. His research was mostly in the area of partial differential equations. MathSciNet lists 115 publications by Professor McKenna, with over 2,500 citations. At UConn he advised 14 PhD students. He was a popular teacher and won the MAA Northeastern Section Teaching Award in 2004. Over the years he influenced many students. Talitha Washington, whose article in the Notices of the AMS acknowledges Professor McKenna and some of her memories of the department from her time here, writes, “I am saddened by the news, and I am deeply grateful to be impacted by him. He was a force that set me on my mathematical path.”

We are grateful to have known Joe and to have had the chance of enjoying his company. His memory will be with all who came to know him.