Obituary of Paromita Chowla

Dr. Paromita Chowla, affectionately known to friends as Pashka, was born on 20 January 1934 in Lahore, India to Dr. Sarvadaman D. S. Chowla and Mrs. Himani Chowla (Mozoomdar). She spent her childhood in Lahore and then in 1947 her family moved to Delhi because of India's partition. Subsequently, her family came to the United States where her father visited the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. In 1949 her family moved to Kansas and in 1952 to Boulder, Colorado. Paromita obtained her Ph.D. in Mathematics on number theory from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1961. She accepted a faculty position in the Department of Mathematics at The Pennsylvania State University in September 1963 and worked there until her retirement in July 1992. Apart from her love for teaching and research in mathematics, she will always be fondly remembered for her generosity, cheerful personality and natural ability as a storyteller. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.