James Brewer (1942-2006) was a notable mathematician in the field of communtative algebra. After receiving his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1968 from Florida State University under the direction of Robert Gilmer, Brewer taught at several universities, including Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1968-1970), University of Kansas (1971-1985) and Florida Atlantic University (1985-2003). He wrote and contributed to a number of publications in communtative algebra, including Emmy Noether: A Tribute to Her Life and Work (1981), Power Series over Communtative Rings (1981), and Linear Systems over Communtative Rings (1986). In addition to his mathematical pursuits, Brewer was also a sportsman, running several marathons and ultra-marathons in South Africa in the 1980s, an active golfer, and avidly followed college football.
From the guide to the James W. Brewer Papers 2006-196., 1968-2003, (Archives of American Mathematics, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
