Born in New Zealand, Sir Jones attended the University of Auckland before relocating to Switzerland pursue his doctorate at École des Mathématiques, University of Geneva, in 1979. His career took him from UCLA to the University of Pennsylvania, then on to become a full professor University of California, Berkeley in 1985. In 2011, he moved to Vanderbilt University as a distinguished professor of mathematics, where he worked for the remainder of his career.  

His significant contributions to mathematics are many, but he is best known for his discovery of an unexpected link between knot theory and von Neumann algebra theory, developing a new mathematical expression now known as the Jones polynomial. The field of quantum topology largely stems from Sir Jones’ discovery and work, for which he was also awarded the Fields Medal in 1990.  

Widely respected in the mathematics community, Sir Jones was elected to numerous prestigious organizations of his peers: the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1993, and the National Academy of Sciences in 1999. A fellow of the Royal Society in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom, in 2002 he was also made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Throughout his distinguished career, he served as vice president of both the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the International Mathematics Union (IMU). Sir Jones also co-founded the New Zealand Mathematics Research Institute, which he led until this year. 

Sir Jones is survived by his wife, and three children. The mathematics community deeply feels the loss of his talents and support of mathematics.