Jay Kappraff

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Jay Kappraff
BornNovember 4, 1937
Bronx, New York, NY
DiedJanuary 22, 2024
Baltimore, MD [1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrooklyn Polytechnic (B.Ch.E); Iowa State (M.S.); New York University (Ph.D.)
Known for mathematics of design
Scientific career
Institutions New Jersey Institute of Technology

Jay Kappraff was an American author and professor of mathematics at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. [2]

Contents

Biography

Kappraff was trained in engineering, physical sciences and mathematics, earning a B.Ch.E. in chemical engineering at New York Polytechnic in 1958. He went on to be awarded a PhD in applied mathematics in 1974 from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, New York University and a M.S. in chemical engineering in 1960 from Iowa State University. He began work for DuPont DeNemours as a chemical engineer from 1961 to 1962 going on to teach mathematics for a brief period before obtaining a position at NASA as an aerospace engineer from 1962 until 1965. He went on to be an instructor of mathematics at the Cooper Union College, New York City from 1968 until 1974.

Following this, he joined the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he worked until his death. He was a consultant for the Department of Energy in 1976. In 1978, he developed a course in the mathematics of design for computer scientists, mathematicians and architects. [3] In bringing together such an interdisciplinary range of subjects, he began to study what he termed a common language of design and geometry. [4] He has been a lecturer on the relationship between art and science and published a large number or articles on subjects ranging from plasma physics, solar heating, aerospace engineering and fractals. He has also published a number of books on these and related subjects and compiled a series of video lectures on the science of design.

In 1991, his book Connections won a prize for the best book in chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy and reference from the Association of American Publishers. [2]

At the NJIT, Kappraff has organized various forums and tuition programs on subjects from Nuclear war and ancient geometry to experimental mathematics. he was a member of the faculty council and chairman of the NJIT Technology and Society Forum committee. He is a member of the Mathematics Association of America and on the editorial board of a new interdisciplinary journal, the International Journal of Biological Systems.

Selected bibliography

References

  1. Sol, Levinson. "Funeral home". Sol Levinson funeral home. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 Jay Kappraff (2001). Connections: The Geometric Bridge Between Art and Science. World Scientific. ISBN   978-981-02-4585-6.
  3. Bruno Gruber; Giuseppe Marmo; Naotaka Yoshinaga (2004). Symmetries in science XI. Springer. pp. 228 & 238. ISBN   978-1-4020-2633-1.
  4. Jay Kappraff (2002). Beyond measure: a guided tour through nature, myth, and number. World Scientific. p. 264. ISBN   978-981-02-4702-7.