Passing of James Yeh, founding member of the Department of Mathematics

Office of the Chancellor
A message from Howard Gillman

I am saddened to inform you of the passing of Professor Emeritus James Yeh, a founding faculty member and longtime mainstay of the Department of Mathematics, on October 16, 2025, at the age of 98.

Born in Tainan, Taiwan, Professor Yeh immigrated to the United States, where he earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Minnesota. He joined UC Irvine in July 1965, before the first students arrived on campus, and served with distinction until his retirement in 2009. He then served on recall for an additional three years. He was chair of the department from 1984 through 1989.

Professor Yeh’s academic contributions were profound. He authored 29 research papers and four books in the field of Real Analysis. His pioneering work in extending classical Wiener frameworks to multi-dimensional domains led to the development of the Yeh-Wiener Process, Yeh-Wiener Measure, and Yeh-Wiener Integral – advancements that contribute to stochastic analysis for applications in mathematical finance, physics, and signal processing.

Professor Yeh was a devoted husband to the late Betty Liu, his beloved wife of 40 years. He is survived by his stepchildren, Susan Osse, Joseph Lin, Eunice Stennett, and Annie Brown, as well as their spouses, children, and grandchild. His legacy endures through his family, his students, and the lasting impact of his scholarship.

Chancellor Howard Gillman