John Abreu was born on November 14, 1946, Caracas Venezuela. He displayed curiosity and care from a young age - as the 4th oldest of 17 children, he assumed a parental role with many of his siblings. John went on to graduate as a mathematics and physics teacher from the Instituto Pedagogico de Caracas at the ripe age of 19, before completing a degree in pure mathematics from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) and graduating Magna Cum Laude.

A chance encounter at a conference in his 20s left a lasting impression with a visiting professor, which led John to be invited to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics at the Eotvos Lorand University of Science in Budapest, Hungary. Knowing only how to speak Spanish when he left Venezuela, he published his thesis in English, and obtained his doctorate from the Hungarian institution with the distinction Summa Cum Laude. 

Upon returning to Venezuela, Dr. John Abreu went on to teach at his alma mater (UCV) and a number of other institutions in Caracas, including Universidad Simon Bolivar and Universidad Metropolitana. Perhaps his most enjoyable role was his decade-long tenure at Universidad Nacional Experimental Francisco de Miranda, where his teaching efforts focused on the pedagogy of math for graduate students. 

A resident of Burnaby for almost 20 years, Dr. John Abreu was heavily involved in his community and volunteered much of his time to making math more accessible and enjoyable for students of all ages. He developed a curriculum of Math Enrichment Workshops (MEW) for School District 41 in Burnaby and was a tutor for many SFU students.

Prior to his passing on June 22, 2022, Dr. John Abreu spent much time at SFU, where his eldest son is an alumnus. He enjoyed taking advantage of the resources available at the SFU library, where he would also develop course content, and walking on the many nature trails around campus.

You can see a small sample of Dr. John Abreu's publications here.