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.