38 Facts About Wilfred Kaplan

Wilfred Kaplan was a professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan for 46 years, from 1940 through 1986.

Wilfred Kaplan's research focused on dynamical systems, the topology of curve families, complex function theory, and differential equations.

For over thirty years Kaplan was an active member of the American Association of University Professors and served as president of the University of Michigan chapter from 1978 to 1985.

Wilfred Kaplan was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Jacob and Anne Kaplan.

Wilfred Kaplan was based out of Zurich, Switzerland where many of the mathematicians working on the applications of topology to differential equations were located.

Wilfred Kaplan spent a month in Rome to work with famous mathematician Tullio Levi-Civita.

Wilfred Kaplan's dissertation covered regular curve families filling the plane.

The couple lived in Houston for a year after their wedding while Wilfred Kaplan taught at the Rice Institute.

Wilfred Kaplan died at the age of 92 after a short illness.

In June 1944, Wilfred Kaplan worked at Brown University as a researcher in an Applied Mathematics Group for the Taylor Model Basin, the Watertown Arsenal and the Bureau of Ordnance of the Navy Department.

Wilfred Kaplan continued his research at Brown for 17 months.

Wilfred Kaplan was named assistant professor in 1944, associate professor in 1950 and full professor in 1956.

Wilfred Kaplan's lectures were characterized by clarity and directness, a skill which allowed him to write several popular mathematics textbooks.

Wilfred Kaplan taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses during his time at Michigan, and further advised eight doctoral students.

Wilfred Kaplan's skillful teaching won him respect among students and coworkers.

Wilfred Kaplan enjoyed conveying the beauty and usefulness of mathematics, and his students responded enthusiastically.

Wilfred Kaplan was a superb expositor, and his ability to elegantly convey mathematical ideas explains the enormous impact of his textbooks.

Wilfred Kaplan sympathized with the plight of engineers who felt the pressure to master more and more math concepts and then master the additional skill of applying it to their field.

Wilfred Kaplan wrote math textbooks specifically for engineers, such as Advanced Mathematics for Engineers, because he believed teachers needed to work on presenting mathematical knowledge more efficiently to this group.

Wilfred Kaplan taught a class called "Mathematical Ideas in Science and the Humanities," which focused on the use of math as an instrument to organize thinking about complex problems.

Wilfred Kaplan became a member of the national American Association of University Professors in 1946.

Wilfred Kaplan served as the vice president of the Michigan Conference AAUP from 1966 to 1968 and as president from 1969 to 1970.

From 1973 to 1978, Wilfred Kaplan served on the executive committee of the University of Michigan Chapter of the AAUP and took over as president in the years from 1978 through 1985.

Wilfred Kaplan continued being an active member even in his retirement, serving as executive secretary from 1985 to 2002.

Wilfred Kaplan received grievances from faculty members and supported collective bargaining.

Wilfred Kaplan sought to obtain a grant to provide the required financial aid.

Wilfred Kaplan argued that retirees should receive more information about the health care options available to them, and he secured increases in maximum coverage and the annual reinstatement amounts allowed to retirees under the university health plan.

Wilfred Kaplan argued that there should be more research of the inevitable challenges that would arise and that the University of Michigan would be a great case study whose results would be relevant for many public universities.

Wilfred Kaplan was involved in a wide variety of other clubs as well.

Wilfred Kaplan made a significant financial contribution to the ONCE Group, a group of artists, musicians, and film-makers known for their annual ONCE music festival in Ann Arbor; the group spearheaded a film festival and a theatre ensemble in the 1960s.

Wilfred Kaplan was a member of the American Mathematical Society, the American Physical Society, and the Mathematical Association of America.

Wilfred Kaplan was on the State's Higher Education Capital Investment Advisory Committee although little is known about his specific role there.

Wilfred Kaplan was Vice Chair of the University's Senate Advisory Committee on Academic Affairs, a subcommittee of the Senate Assembly.

Additionally, Wilfred Kaplan served as the treasurer of the Ann Arbor Unitarian Fellowship from 1972 to 2002.

Wilfred Kaplan retired in May 1986 after 46 years of service to the university.

Wilfred Kaplan was on the AFLF's board of directors until his death.

Wilfred Kaplan died on December 26,2007, after a short illness.

Wilfred Kaplan was always up to date and on the mark until he died, many years after he had retired.