John David Crawford

John David Crawford (1954–1998) was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He obtained his undergraduate degree with honors from Princeton University in 1977 and his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1983.
An internationally recognized researcher in theoretical physics, he specialized in plasma physics and nonlinear dynamics. His broad physical insight and deep knowledge of mathematics enabled him to make profound contributions in dynamical systems. He published more than 80 research papers and wrote a landmark review on bifurcation theory. Apart from his research, he was a passionate mountain climber. He died on August 23, 1998 of Burkitt's lymphoma, a form of lymph cancer.
In 2001, SIAM's Activity Group in Dynamical Systems established the J.D. Crawford Prize, which is now the world's top award in dynamical systems.