In memory of Armin Leutbecher
An obitury by Jürgen Scheurle
Armin Leutbecher at a mathematical colloquium in Heidelberg.
Armin Leutbecher studied mathematics and physics in Göttingen, Tübingen and Münster. He completed his studies in 1961 with the State Examinations for Higher Education Teaching and attained his PhD in 1963, both at the University of Münster. Here he continued to work, after his habilitation in 1969 as a university lecturer. In 1970, he moved to the Technical University of Munich (TUM), where he became a member of the Department of Mathematics, working as a highly dedicated and successful associate professor up until and beyond his retirement in 1999.
© Jürgen Scheurle
Armin Leutbecher was equally valued as a scientist and as an academic teacher. The focus of his research activities lay in problems in the fields of algebra and number theory. His publications are characterized by their high mathematical standard. At the TUM he was particularly renowned for his excellent lectures, which impressed not only through their clear structure and mathematical depth, but also through their originality. Many students have profited from his basis lectures in linear algebra and analysis. His meticulously compiled lecture notes are legendary; his teaching manual "Number Theory - an Introduction to Algebra" a masterpiece. Armin Leutbecher's name is irrevocably associated with the "Hurwitz-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Mathematik an der TU München e. V." which he founded in 1997. With untiring enthusiasm and commitment he led this alumni organization from 1997 to 2011 as head chairman and remained thereafter as honorary chairman, a valued advisor, and supporter to his successors.
On a personal level, Armin Leutbecher was an exceptionally polite and friendly person, with many interests beyond mathematics. All of those who shared in his life will remember him fondly and with great respect.