 degrees in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1976 and his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980 under the direction of Norberto Kerzman.Boas was a J. F. Ritt Assistant Professor at Columbia University (1980–1984) before moving to Texas A&M University, where he advanced to the rank of associate professor in 1987 and full professor in 1992.He has held visiting positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, California.