Eugene "Gene" Arthur Klotz

Eugene “Gene” Arthur Klotz died Wednesday, May 13, at age 90. A retired longtime professor of mathematics at Swarthmore College, he was a dedicated and innovative educator.

Klotz was born in Fredericksburg, Iowa, to Lloyd Klotz, a farmer, and Elizabeth Rausch, who trained as a nurse and raised him as a single mom in the Los Angeles area.

After graduating from Chaffey High School, Klotz studied mathematics at Antioch College and graduated in 1958. He then held an NSF graduate fellowship from 1959-1962 and taught at Yale University, where he received a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1965. His dissertation, under noted mathematician Nathan Jacobson, was titled Isomorphisms of Simple Lie Rings.

In 1963, Klotz joined Swarthmore’s mathematics faculty, where he ultimately served for 47 years.

In the early 1980s, he pioneered the use of computer graphics to develop game-like video programs for teaching trigonometry and calculus. In 1986, he launched the multimedia Visual Geometry Project with Moravian College mathematician Doris Schattschneider to develop new technology-based education materials, including The Geometer's Sketchpad. Over the years, he consistently secured funding for his work, primarily from the National Science Foundation, to explore the Internet’s potential to support mathematics education and collaboration.

With the advent of the Internet, Klotz expanded his project to the Math Forum, an online center for people to learn math together. It also featured a popular mentoring service, Ask Dr. Math, and developed the Notice and Wonder routine that is now baked into math curriculum and teacher education. The Math Forum resources are now integrated in the programs and publications of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In 2011, Klotz received the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Lifetime Achievement Award.

After he retired, Klotz continued to live in Swarthmore and pursued his many non-math-related interests, including reading, bird watching, gardening, cooking, travel, and music — especially jazz.

In the words of a friend: “Gene was all of that, plus genuine human kindness, a cool, easy-going, and benevolent manner; a charming, warm, adaptable, and open-minded human being, a connoisseur of music, particularly sophisticated jazz and early music, and all of this with simplicity and no trace of pretension. A beautiful specimen of a human being.”

Gene is survived by his wife, Carole Netter, children Gretchen and Jeremy, and grandchildren Deborah and Vivian. A memorial service will take place on Swarthmore’s campus in the fall. 

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions in Gene’s memory to Mathematics Education Trust at https://www.nctm.org/met/