Remembering Michael Reid
Students and faculty look back at the legacy Michael Reid left in the Department of Mathematics.
By Emily Dougherty | April 21, 2025
The College of Sciences is mourning the loss of Associate Professor of Mathematics Michael Reid, who passed away earlier this semester. Known for his decades long dedication to teaching, he leaves behind a legacy on his students, fellow faculty members, and the UCF Community.
“I’m deeply saddened about the passing of our colleague and friend, Michael Reid, Ph.D.. He leaves behind a long legacy of dedication in our Department and we will greatly miss him,” said Zixia Song, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Math.“ He was deeply passionate about teaching linear algebra and abstract algebra, and about the success of his students.
“In addition to his positive contributions in the classroom, he made important research contributions in tiling problems in Mathematics. Dr. Reid was devoted to his students and we have heard such wonderful sentiments about the positive impact he has made on their learning.”
Reid received his doctorate in 2000 from Brown University. Before he started teaching, Reid worked as a software engineer for Parametric Technology Corporation.
In September of 2000, after he completed his doctoral degree, Reid found his way back to the classroom as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts until he moved across the country to the University of Arizona as a Visiting Assistant Professor.
It wasn’t until 2003 when Reid became a Knight as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and taught there for almost 22 years. Over the course of his journey at UCF, he became an Associate Professor of Mathematics where he has taught more than 20 math courses to both graduate and undergraduate students.
Through the plethora of courses Reid taught, he touched the lives of countless students with his dedication to student success and teaching.
Peter Sanabria, one of his students, shares the big impact Reid had on his class in the small amount of time he had him.
“In the short time we had him this semester, he made a lasting impact. We know he was a gifted professor who had a vast legacy with his students,” Sanabria says. “We knew he cared.”
His commitment to teaching math and helping students succeed wasn’t unnoticed by his fellow faculty members. Professor of Mathematics Bhimsen Shivamoggi shares that Reid ensured his students received the best education.
“Michael Reid was ‘Mr. Math’,” Shivamoggi says. “He was completely dedicated to mathematics and the mathematics teaching mission.”
UCF math alumna, Heather Edwards, now a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, says the pandemic was during her hiring process and Reid was a friendly and familiar face behind his mask.
“When I interviewed for my current position in March 2022, and with the pandemic not being long beforehand, many of us were still wearing masks. Despite the mask and the passing of almost 20 years, I realized who Michael was the second I heard him speak. He came up to me and asked, ‘Do you remember who I am?’,” she says. “You could see the smile in his eyes, pleased to know I remembered him. He recalled my graduate student days, seeing me push my baby daughter in her stroller through the halls of Mathematical Sciences Building (MSB) on my way to and from research meetings. That moment was a nice break during a busy, demanding day of interviews.”
Edwards reminisces on her time working with Reid and says he was more than a colleague— he was a friend.
“Until this term, I had at least one class on the fourth floor of MSB each semester, a ‘stone’s throw’ from Michael’s office. It was not uncommon for Michael to peek through the window when I was teaching, exchange a quick wave to say hello, and chat a bit after class,” Edwards says. “I wish the last time it happened I could have realized it would be our last, if only so that we could have talked a little longer.”