Gideon Zwas     1939-2000
In January 2000 we lost our dear colleague
Professor Gideon Zwas, a mathematician, an educator, a friend.
Gideon was born in Tel-Aviv in 1939,
graduated from Tel-Aviv University in Mathematics in 1962,
and received his M.Sc. in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1967
from the Weizmann Institute.
Gideon joined the Department of Applied Mathematics at
Tel-Aviv University as an assistant in 1964, and as a lecturer
in 1967. In 1965 he initiated the Pi-club for young mathematicians
which attracted many bright young people. Many of the young
members in the Pi-club are today well known mathematicians.
Gideon was one of the best lecturers in the School of Mathematical
Sciences, admired and appreciated by his students.
He loved Numerical Methods and Numerical Analysis, as
he viewed this subject as the bridge between mathematics and real
life. His pioneering contributions to the study of numerical methods
for the solution of hyperbolic partial differential equations are
still quoted in papers today. Gideon also carried the flag of
mathematical education at Tel-Aviv University. He
supervised many M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in this field in the School
of Education, and transferred his love of mathematics to
many high school teachers. The book he wrote together with his
friend and colleague Shlomo Breuer:
Numerical Mathematics - A Laboratory Approach
is a beautiful work presenting the
algorithmic aspects of mathematics, making them viable through
numerical assignments.
Uri Ascher, one of Gideon's former M.Sc. students,
a Professor of Numerical Analysis
at the University of British Columbia, writes:
I first met Gideon almost 40 years ago, when I was
a teenager involved in the Tel-Aviv sea-scouts
(Tsofei Yam), and Gideon was
our counselor (madrich) for one year. He was really great, engulfing
us all in his boundless enthusiasm and positive
energy. The teacher was already strong in him then.
A few years later Gideon entered my life again. This was the
late 60's and he was the professor in two advanced courses
I took during my studies towards
the BSc and MSc degrees in Applied Math in Tel-Aviv.
The same enthusiasm from years of yore was now evident
in his professional interests and activities.
Subsequently he supervised my MSc thesis.
Two other students did their MSc work with Gideon at
the same period: The Late Ami Harten and Benzion Eilon.
Undoubtedly, he was a major influence in shaping our future careers
and the paths of life we chose.
I will always remember him with great respect and affection.
Judith Gal-Ezer, a colleague of Gideon,
Professor at the Open University of Israel, writes:
Last summer I bought a small booklet in New York entitled ``To Teach is to
Touch
Lives Forever'', intending to give it to Gideon. He became ill shortly
after the
summer and passed away before I had a chance to give it to him. The
booklet is a
collection of quotations about teachers who left their mark on their
pupils.
Gideon fitted into this category, a teacher and educator through and
through, who
infected his pupils with his enthusiasm and his own special lively
brilliance, making an indelible impression on them.
He often said to me that he measured his achievement not in the books and
papers he
published, but in teaching and raising generations of pupils. In this he
clearly succeeded.
Thirty years ago, Gideon started working (first with Shlomo Breuer and
later with me)
on integrating computers into the teaching of mathematics, or, more
accurately, on
exploiting the potential of computers to teaching mathematics. Part of
our work
together has come to fruition in the fifth unit of the new Computer Science
program currently in use, and is an integral part of the mathematics
curriculum.
Gideon had intended to devote the next few years to getting his ideas
incorporated
into the education system, by holding seminars for teachers, by actually
teaching in schools, by improving the written material, etc.
His plans were nipped in the bud, but I hope there will be someone who will
do his
best to continue this important work.
Gideon will be missed by all of us, he leaves a gap in the educational
scene, but we
will always remember him as the educator, teacher and scientist who
dedicated
himself to improving the heart of the educational system.