Thomas E. Kurtz Professor of Mathematics and Computer
Thomas E. Kurtz Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Emeritus An Interview Conducted by Daniel Daily Hanover, New Hampshire June 20, 2002 July 2, 2002 DOH-44 Special Collections Dartmouth College Hanover, New Hampshire Thomas Kurtz Interview INTERVIEWEE: Thomas Kurtz INTERVIEWER: Daniel Daily PLACE: Hanover, NH DATE: June 20, 2002 DAILY: Today is June 20, 2002 and I am speaking with Professor Emeritus Thomas Kurtz. Professor Kurtz, one of the first questions I would like to ask is what brought you to Dartmouth and specifically the math department here? KURTZ: It was primarily the attraction of the geographical area. I was a graduate student at Princeton and, incidentally, at one point I lived less than a block from the Kemenys [John G. and Jean Kemeny], but I didnʼt know them down there because we were in different spheres. I think by that time he was a junior faculty member of philosophy and I was a lowly graduate student in mathematics. At any rate, in the summer of 1955, my first wife and I and our family came up to Hanover to visit people who we knew down at Princeton, particularly Bob [Robert] and Anita Norman who had moved up here. He had taken a position in the math department -- or was here for the summer at least -- and [J.] Laurie and Joan Snell, whom we knew quite well at Princeton. So we came up and spent a week…I donʼt know…and thought, “Gee, this is a lovely part of the country.” I had previously thought, “Well, obviously I am going to go out west where men are men and women are glad of it type of thing in the mountains." Then, I think it was about March of the year I was scheduled to finish my degree at Princeton and I had mentioned something about wanting to go to Dartmouth because one of my friends had said that Kemeny was in town recruiting.
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