This past year saw numerous celebrations for the Faculty of Mathematics’ 50th anniversary. Above all else, we hold firm the belief that it has been the incredible alumni who have passed through our doors that has been our greatest strength. Each graduate carrying with him or her, their hopes and ambitions. They also carry the reputation of the Faculty. Few have done this as exceptionally as José Blakeley.
It is with heavy hearts that this January we said goodbye to this remarkable alumnus.
José’s friends and colleagues describe him as intellectually curious, humble, and generous. Born in Ciudad Madero, Mexico, José studied Computer Science at ITESM (Monterrey Institute of Technology). During his courses, José used software created at the University of Waterloo. Some of his professors were also graduates of Waterloo. It was almost a forgone conclusion that he would come to Canada for graduate studies.
José arrived on campus in 1981 with his new wife Lucy in tow. There he joined friends, Laura and Pedro Celis. The young couples would spend many late nights in their student offices on the 5th floor of the Mathematics and Computing building breaking down problems, chasing ideas, and having intense discussions on many topics including the theory of computing.
“It was an exciting time to be at Waterloo. To come from Mexico and be admitted to such a great university was such a privilege,” said Laura Celis. “We wanted to learn as much as possible and share that knowledge. It was an exciting time.”
Their time at Waterloo was not devoted completely to academics. The newlyweds explored the unique aspects and culture of their new home. They experienced their first snowfall on Laura’s birthday in October. Their first Thanksgiving was spent in rustic cabins by a lake, roasting their first turkey, and even attempting (with different degrees of success) to paddle their way around the lake in a canoe.
In 1981, José received his MMath under the direction of Frank Tompa. His PhD, supervised by Paul Larson and Frank Tompa, soon followed in 1987. The next stop in José’s journey was a faculty role at Indiana University. This coincided with the birth of his son, Alfredo.
Soon after, he left academia for industry. He accepted a role at Microsoft and, having found a company that so perfectly matched his own values, he made Washington his home.
José entertained a brilliant career at Microsoft as a software architect. He published many papers in distinguished conferences, and obtained 19 patents in the area of databases. In 2010, he received the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellows award for his transformative contributions to computing and information technology.
In addition to career success, José had a deep desire to give back. In 2002, as Waterloo embarked on Campaign Waterloo, an employee campaign was started at Microsoft. The goal of the campaign was to raise alumni pride from the several hundred Waterloo alumni at Microsoft and to raise money to support the campaign. José was an active donor and volunteer for a campaign dubbed the UWAlumni@Microsoft Campaign. Over $1.5M was raised to support scholarships in Mathematics and Engineering.
“José was a wonderful asset to the campaign as he acted as a strategic advisor, donor, and peer solicitor. He was always kind, thoughtful and driven to be successful,” says Jason Coolman, AVP, Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Waterloo. “Our success was directly related to dedicated and passionate volunteers like José.”
During a Microsoft offsite, José met his friend and running partner, Donald Kossman. Though snowing, the colleagues decided to lace up their running shoes and trudged along the snow flurried streets. By the time they made it back to the hotel, a little damp but exhilarated, they were fast friends and running partners.
During the twice weekly runs, they found that they shared the same core values and both were drawn to Microsoft’s corporate ethics. They developed ideas together and published joint papers. Donald was the co-author of José’s final paper in December.
They also discussed José’s belief that tech could be good for humanity. He was passionate about the products that he developed and especially excited about the cloud’s potential to democratize society. As the world increasingly becomes a data-oriented society, data is power. José felt that for this to be successful, the industry needed to have more data systems experts.
José also felt that computer technology could make the world more accessible for people with disabilities.
“José thought that technology had tremendous potential to improve the lives of people everywhere,” said Pedro Celis. “Advancing technology is a great pursuit, but we should always keep in mind how those advances can be used to help people surmount challenges they face on an everyday basis. Just like technology has revolutionized industry, it also can revolutionize the life of a person by allowing them to do things that otherwise would be impossible.”
He exemplified this aim through his work with Tyler Shrenk, a young man paralyzed in a tragic accident. José used tools developed by Microsoft to replace the use of a computer mouse by voice commands.
Suddenly Tyler could interact with the world through simple voice commands. He could read ebooks, navigate websites, and communicate by email with his friends. This marked the start of Tyler's gaining back some independence. His depression lifted.
To those who knew José, it was just another example of his deep empathy for others. Another part of the make-up of a man who will be remembered for his exceptional generosity, deep friendships, service above self, and a deep love for his family, Lucy, Alfredo and his wife Jordan Bush, and upcoming grandchild.
José lived out his deep faith on a daily basis, generously giving of himself to many people and organizations through time, talent, and treasure. He was ordained as a Deacon in 2012, serving in his local parish, Saint Brendan’s.
José passed away on January 7th while under treatment for a long-term illness. He had been responding well to treatment, making his sudden death completely unexpected.
In honour of this exceptional alumnus who gave so much to others, the Faculty of Mathematics will be launching a mini-campaign to create The José Blakeley Graduate Scholarship in Data Systems. The award will be granted to a graduate student in the Data Systems Group. Candidates for the award must be international students with a demonstrated need – this need goes beyond simply financial, as the award may be granted to a recipient who has strived to overcome a barrier.
To find out how you can support this award, contact Candace Harrington, Director of Advancement, Mathematics at c2harrington@uwaterloo.ca.
