Dr. Ronald Mullin, the first graduate of the University of Waterloo and a pioneering member of the Faculty of Mathematics, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 6th, 2026, in Cambridge, Ontario. He was 89.
“Ron Mullin’s connection to the University of Waterloo spanned more than six decades, beginning as the first graduate of its mathematics program and continuing as a distinguished scholar, mentor, and leader,” says Dr. Jochen Koenemann, dean of the Faculty of Mathematics. “His contributions to combinatorics and cryptography, and the many students and colleagues he inspired, form a lasting legacy that will continue to shape our community for generations.”
Born in 1936, Mullin earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario and began graduate work before being recruited to the brand-new University of Waterloo in 1959 to lecture while completing his Master of Arts. On June 18, 1960, he received an MA in Mathematics, the first degree ever awarded at Waterloo.
Mullin stayed at Waterloo for his PhD. He was an extremely promising mathematician and cryptographer, so much so that math professor Dr. Ralph Stanton used the prospect of working with him to convince Dr. William Tutte to take a job at the university. Tutte, a celebrated cryptographer and WWII hero, came to Waterloo, and supervised the remainder of Mullin’s graduate work. Mullin graduated with his PhD in 1964 and stayed at the university as a mathematics professor. An early member of the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, he served as chair from 1975 to 1979.
“Ron taught my first computer science class,” recalls Dr. Alfred Menezes, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in C&O, in a 2022 interview. “To him, the little details didn’t matter. He thinks about the big stuff – the important stuff…he realized the value of ideas.”
“Ron Mullin played a major role in establishing both combinatorics and cryptography as areas of research excellence within C&O,” says David Jao, chair of the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization. “As a co-founder of a leading journal (Designs, Codes and Cryptography), a major conference (SEICCGTC), and a successful company (Certicom), Ron’s work has positively touched all aspects of department life. Among his academic progeny are five C&O professors (Stinson, Vanstone, Menezes, Furino, Schellenberg), 20 students, and 220 descendants. His influence in the Canadian Research landscape is massive and he will be dearly missed.”
After retiring from the University of Waterloo, Mullin moved to Florida and enjoyed a second career at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. There he established a Cryptography Group, and worked actively until his “second retirement” in 2011.
In 2001 Mullin was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Rostock in Germany. In 2017, he became the first recipient of the Stanton Medal, which is awarded by the Institute for Combinatorics and its Applications to “honour significant lifetime contributions to promoting the discipline of combinatorics through advocacy, outreach, service, teaching and/or mentoring.”
He is survived by his beloved wife Janet (née Simpson) of 54 years, as well as his children Kimberley Kowalik (Robert) and Jaime Mullin and extended family. His family was the center of his world, and he enjoyed spending time with them in Florida and at the family cottage in Tobermory, travelling, experiencing different cultures and seeing all that the world had to offer.
Mullin is remembered as an exceptional husband and father as well as a nurturing and patient teacher with a great sense of humour. He will be dearly missed.
Cremation has taken place. A tribute to Mullin’s life will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2026. In lieu of flowers, his family has requested that donations be made to a Combinatorics and Optimization scholarship fund at Waterloo. For more information about the upcoming ceremony, as well as donation and tribute information, please visit his page on the Erb & Good Funeral Home website or visit the Ron Mullin Memorial Fund donation page from the University of Waterloo.