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Professor Marialuisa J. de Resmini, a long-time active member of the editorial board of Designs, Codes and Cryptography and then one of the very few honorary editors, passed away on October 12, 2012. While she was not in good health during her last few years, her death came entirely unexpectedly. We have lost a very dear friend, who was an inspiration for countless young mathematicians and influenced Finite Geometry considerably.

Marialuisa J. de Resmini (the J. standing for Joyce, a fact not all that well-known) was born on 2nd December 1939, in Rome. She spent most of her academic career at the Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, where she received her Degree in Mathematical Sciences on July 12, 1960. Her tesi di Laurea (this is a kind of master thesis) was on integral geometry; this led to her first publication in Archimede in 1961. After several years of teaching first as volontary assistant to the chair of Descriptive and Projective Geometry in the Faculty of Architecture of Rome and then as lecturer of Geometry at the University of L’Aquila, Marialuisa returned to work at “La Sapienza” in 1969, first as an assistant and lecturer, and from 1982 as Associate Professor of Algebra until her retirement in 2009. After that, she lived quietly in her apartment in Rome. Sadly, her health was deteriorating, but she still enjoyed visits and phone calls from many friends. She died in hospital in Frascati on October 12, 2012, and the funeral ceremony took place in Frascati at the Chiesa di S. Bonaventura on October 16, 2012.

Marialuisa published close to seventy research papers between 1961 and 2008. Although she wrote a paper on quartic curves presented at the conference on Combinatorial Geometry in Perugia in 1970, her consistent work began in 1980, with the Combinatorial Geometry Seminar at “La Sapienza” providing a great stimulus. Her work was subsequently all concerned with finite mathematics. The papers ranged over the areas of finite planes, both Desarguesian and non-Desarguesian, block designs, the combinatorics of three-dimensional spaces, and algebraic curves. She liked to help her colleagues to improve their proficiency in English and could always find time to read the draft of their papers and give suggestions. She also acted as co-organiser of the “Seminario di Geometria combinatoria“ of La Sapienza from 2000–2005, of the four Pythagorean Conferences on Geometry, Combinatorial Designs & Cryptology (Spetses 1996, Samos 1999, Rhodos 2003, Corfu 2010), and was a Visiting Professor both in Gent (Belgium) and Perth (Australia).

Marialuisa put a huge amount of energy into teaching and dealing with her students, always being willing to help and advise, even in non-academic matters. Thus she was much loved by them, and a group of her former students organised a retirement conference for her in September, 2009. Her colleagues were happy to contribute in organising a special volume of Rendiconti di Matematica in her honour, which appeared in 2010 (Series 7, Volume 30). A memorial website for her was set up soon after her death:

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where one can find the first volume of her Appunti di Algebra, which was texed by her students.

We are sure that Marialuisa’s scientific and personal legacy will stay alive for many years to come, and that she will always be fondly remembered by her many friends and students. We all deeply miss her.

Publications of Marialuisa J. de Resmini:

  1. 1.

    de Resmini M.: Un ramo relativamente nuovo della matematica: la geometria integrale. Archimede. 13, 134–144 (1961).

  2. 2.

    de Resmini M.: Sulle quartiche piane sopra un campo di caratteristica due. Ric. Mat. 19, 133–160 (1970).

  3. 3.

    de Resmini M.: On quartics in a plane over a field of characteristic 2. Atti Convegno Geom. comb. Appl. Perugia 1970, 187–197 (1971).

  4. 4.

    de Resmini M.J.: On congruences on Steiner ternary algebras. A class of resolvable SQS’s. Boll. Unione Mat. Ital. V. Ser. B. 17, 74–81 (1980).

  5. 5.

    de Resmini M.J.: There exist at least three non-isomorphic \(S(2,4,28)\)’s. J. Geom. 16, 148–151 (1981).

  6. 6.

    de Finis M., de Resmini M.J.: On spreads of type \((m,n)\) with respect to primes in \(PG(4,q)\), \(q\) a square. Boll. Unione Mat. Ital. VI. Ser. D Algebra Geom. 1, 247–252 (1982).

  7. 7.

    de Finis M., de Resmini M.J.: On the characterization of subgeometries \(PG(r,\sqrt{q})\) in \(PG(r,q)\). Eur. J. Comb. 3, 319–328 (1982).

  8. 8.

    de Resmini M.J.: On blocking sets in symmetric BIBD’s with \(\lambda \ge 2\). J. Geom. 18, 194–198 (1982).

  9. 9.

    de Resmini M.J.: On sets of type \((m,n)\) in BIBD’s with \(\lambda \ge 2\). Ann. Discret. Math. 14, 183–206 (1982).

  10. 10.

    Bruen A., de Resmini M.: Blocking sets in affine planes. Ann. Discret. Math. 18, 169–175 (1983).

  11. 11.

    de Finis M., de Resmini M.J.: On cubic surfaces over a field of characteristic 3. Ann. Discret. Math. 18 241–277 (1983).

  12. 12.

    de Resmini M.J.: A characterization of the secants of an ovaloid in \(PG(3,q)\), \(q\) even, \(q\ge 2\). Ars Comb. 16B, 33–49 (1983).

  13. 13.

    de Resmini M.J.: A characterization of the set of lines either belonging to or tangent to a non-singular Hermitian variety in \(PG(3,q),\,q\) a square. Rend. Mat. Appl., VII. Ser. 3, 641–654 (1983).

  14. 14.

    de Resmini M.J.: An infinite family of type \((m,n)\) sets in \(PG(2,q^2),\,q\) a square. J. Geom. 20, 34–43 (1983).

  15. 15.

    de Resmini M.: A characterization of the set of lines either tangent to or lying on a non-singular Hermitian variety in \(PG(4,q),\,q\) a square. Mitt. Math. Semin. Gießen. 166, 177–192 (1984).

  16. 16.

    de Resmini M.J.: A characterization of linear complexes in \(PG(3,q)\). Ars Comb. 18, 99–102 (1984).

  17. 17.

    de Resmini M.J.: A characterization of the set of lines either tangent to or lying on a nonsingular quadric in \(PG(4,q),\,q\) odd. Finite geometries, Pap. Conference Winnipeg, Canada, 1984. Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics, vol. 103, pp. 271–288 (1985).

  18. 18.

    de Resmini M.J.: On 2-blocking sets in projective planes. Ars Comb. 20B (1985).

  19. 19.

    de Resmini M.J.: On \(k\)-sets of class \([0,q/2-1,q/2,q/2+1,q]\) in a plane of even order \(q\). Eur. J. Comb. 6, 303–315 (1985).

  20. 20.

    de Resmini M.J., Migliori G.: A 78-set of type (2,6) in \(PG(2,16)\). Ars Comb. 22, 73–75 (1986).

  21. 21.

    de Resmini M.J.: A 35-set of type (2,5) in \(PG(2,9)\). J. Comb. Theory Ser. A. 45, 303–305 (1987).

  22. 22.

    de Resmini M.J.: On 3-blocking sets in projective planes. Ann. Discret. Math. 34, 145–152 (1987).

  23. 23.

    de Resmini M.J.: Some combinatorial properties of a semi-translation plane. Congr. Numer. 59, 5–12 (1987).

  24. 24.

    de Resmini M.J., Puccio L.: Some combinatorial properties of the dual Lorimer plane. Ars Comb. 24A, 131–148 (1987).

  25. 25.

    Puccio L., de Resmini M.J.: Subplanes of the Hughes plane of order 25. Arch. Math. 49, 151–165 (1987).

  26. 26.

    de Resmini M.J.: On admissible sets with two intersection numbers in a projective plane. Ann. Discret. Math. 37, 137–146 (1988).

  27. 27.

    de Resmini M.J.: On the semifield plane of order 16 with kern \(\text{ GF}(2)\). Ars Comb. 25B, 75–92 (1988).

  28. 28.

    de Resmini M.J.: On complete arcs in Steiner systems \(S(2, 3, v)\) and \(S(2, 4, v)\). Discret. Math. 77, 65–73 (1989).

  29. 29.

    de Resmini M.J.: On the Dempwolff plane. Contemp. Math. 111, 47–64 (1990).

  30. 30.

    de Resmini M.J.: On the derived semifield plane of order 16. Ars Comb. 29B, 97–109 (1990).

  31. 31.

    de Resmini M.J.: On the Johnson-Walker plane. Bull. Belg. Math. Soc. Simon Stevin. 64, 113–139 (1990).

  32. 32.

    de Resmini M.J.: Some remarks on the Hall plane of order 16. Congr. Numer. 70, 17–27 (1990).

  33. 33.

    Colbourn C.J., Phelps K.T., de Resmini M. J., Rosa A.: Partitioning Steiner triple systems into complete arcs. Discret. Math. 89, 149–160 (1991).

  34. 34.

    de Resmini M.: On an exceptional semi-translation plane. Advances in finite geometries and designs. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Isle of Thorns Conference, Chelwood Gate, UK, 1990, pp. 141–162 (1991).

  35. 35.

    de Resmini M.: On the semifield plane of order \(16\) with kern \(\text{ GF}(4)\). In: Barlotti A. et al.(ed.) Combinatorics ’88, vol. 2: Proceedings of the International Conference on Incidence Geometries and Combinatorial Structures, Ravello, Italy, May 23–28, 1988. Mediterranean Press, Rende. Research and Lecture Notes in Mathematics, pp. 369–390 (1991).

  36. 36.

    de Resmini M.J.: Failed Baers and blocking sets. Mitt. Math. Semin. Gießen 201, 45–48 (1991).

  37. 37.

    de Resmini M.J.: Some naive constructions of \(S(2, 3, v)\) and \(S(2, 4, v)\). Discret. Math. 97, 149–153 (1991).

  38. 38.

    de Resmini M.J.: The fractal-like Steiner triple system. Ann. Discret. Math. 52, 119–126 (1992).

  39. 39.

    de Resmini M.J., Jungnickel D.: Strongly regular semi-Cayley graphs. J. Algebraic Comb. 1, 171–195 (1992).

  40. 40.

    Griggs T., de Resmini M., Rosa A.: Decomposing Steiner triple systems into four-line configurations. Ann. Discret. Math. 52, 215–226 (1992).

  41. 41.

    Phelps K.T., de Resmini M.J.: Partitioning twofold triple systems into complete arcs. Discret. Math. 104, 273–280 (1992).

  42. 42.

    de Resmini M.J., Leone A.O.: Subplanes of the derived Hughes plane of order 25. Bull. Belg. Math. Soc. Simon Stevin. 67, 289–322 (1993).

  43. 43.

    de Resmini M.J.: Some partitions of \(S(2,3,v^2)\) and \(S(2,4,v^2)\). Australas. J. Comb. 10, 289–291 (1994).

  44. 44.

    Key J.D., de Resmini M.J.: Codewords for projective planes from sets of type \((s, t)\). Eur. J. Comb. 15, 259–268 (1994).

  45. 45.

    de Resmini M.J.: Projective planes, nondesarguesian. In: Colbourn, Charles J. et al. (eds.) The CRC Handbook of Combinatorial Designs. CRC Press Series on Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, pp.708–718. CRC Press, Boca Raton (1996).

  46. 46.

    Jungnickel D., de Resmini M.J., Vanstone S.A.: Codes based on complete graphs. Des. Codes Cryptogr. 8, 159–165 (1996).

  47. 47.

    de Resmini M.J.: On the classical semitranslation plane of order 16. Ars Comb. 46, 191–209 (1997).

  48. 48.

    de Resmini M.J.: On the Mathon plane. J. Geom. 60, 47–64 (1997).

  49. 49.

    Hirschfeld J.W.P., Magliveras S.S., de Resmini M.J.: Geometry, combinatorial designs and related structures. Proceedings of the first Pythagorean conference, Island of Spetses, Greece, June 1–7, 1996. London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series. 245. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. vii, 258 (1997).

  50. 50.

    de Resmini M.J., Hamilton N.: Hyperovals and unitals in Figueroa planes. Eur. J. Comb. 19, 215–220 (1998).

  51. 51.

    Key J.D., de Resmini M.J.: Small sets of even type and codewords. J. Geom. 61, 83–104 (1998).

  52. 52.

    Calkin N.J., Key J.D., de Resmini M.J.: Minimum weight and dimension formulas for some geometric codes. Des. Codes Cryptogr. 17, 105–120 (1999).

  53. 53.

    Hamilton N., de Resmini M.J.: Partitioning hyperovals in \(PG(2, 64)\). Bull. Inst. Comb. Appl. 27, 89–94 (1999).

  54. 54.

    Bader L., Cossidente A., de Resmini M.J.: Holey Segre varieties. Eur. J. Comb. 22, 911–919 (2001).

  55. 55.

    Key J.D., de Resmini M.J.: Ternary dual codes of the planes of order nine. J Stat. Plan. Inference 95, 229–236 (2001).

  56. 56.

    Bader L., Cossidente A., de Resmini M.: Partitioning Segre varieties and projective spaces. Australas. J. Comb. 25, 59–67 (2002).

  57. 57.

    Bader L., de Resmini M.J.: On some Kantor flocks. Discret. Math. 255, 3–6 (2002).

  58. 58.

    Clark K.L., Key J.D., de Resmini M.J.: Dual codes of translation planes. Eur J. Comb. 23, 529–538 (2002).

  59. 59.

    de Resmini M.J., Ghinelli D., Jungnickel D.: Arcs and ovals from abelian groups. Des. Codes Cryptogr. 26, 213–228 (2002).

  60. 60.

    Jungnickel D., de Resmini M.J.: Another case of the prime power conjecture for finite projective planes. Adv. Geom. 2, 215–218 (2002).

  61. 61.

    Cossidente A., de Resmini M.: Construction of designs which contain a unital. Bull. Inst. Comb. Appl. 39, 75–77 (2003)

  62. 62.

    de Resmini M.J., Jungnickel D. Two infinite families of failed symmetric designs. Discret. Math. 261, 235–241 (2003).

  63. 63.

    Key J.D., de Resmini M.J.: An upper bound for the minimum weight of dual codes of Figueroa planes. J. Geom. 77, 102–107 (2003).

  64. 64.

    Cossidente A., de Resmini M.: Remarks on Singer cyclic groups and their normalizers. Des. Codes Cryptogr. 32, 97–102 (2004).

  65. 65.

    Cossidente A., de Resmini M.J., Marino G.: On the geometry of commuting polarities. Eur. J. Comb. 28, 1043–1055 (2007).

  66. 66.

    de Resmini M.J.: Affine planes in certain groups. Bull. Inst. Comb. Appl. 50, 45–46 (2007).

  67. 67.

    Cossidente A., de Resmini M.J.: The transitive and co-transitive blocking sets in \(P^2(\mathbb F _q)\). Contrib. Discret. Math. 3, 47–51 (2008).

  68. 68.

    Ghinelli D., de Resmini M.J., Key J.D.: Minimum words of codes from affine planes. J. Geom. 91, 43–51 (2009).