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In October 2001, Kara Lynn Klarner sent
me a big box of papers that contained David A. Klarner's incomplete and
unpublished work. I've been gradually editing this material, trying to understand
it, and publishing it on this web site. I started on
this work in October 2001. Who was David Klarner? Many people know David Klarner from his early work on polyominos, tilings, and cell-growth problems. Many others know the book he edited in the late 1970's, The Mathematical Gardner. It was published in 1981 by Van Nostrand Reinhold, and contains articles on recreational mathematics dedicated to Martin Gardner on the occasion of his 65th birthday on October 21, 1979. 
The Mathematical Gardner contains contributions by many of the best mathematics popularizers of the last several decades of the 20th century, including the following people: Leonard Adleman It's too bad this book has recently (2001) gone out of print again. Even when it has been in print, the delightful original dusk jacket illustration "Bees in Clover" by Marjorie Rice has been replaced. If you ever see a cheap copy in a used bookstore, snatch it up. I've seen them sell for $100 to $150 dollars online. [Footnote added 2 May 2002]: This book is still available, now a Dover Book, apparently, with the new title Mathematical Recreations : A Collection in Honor of Martin Gardner. Klarner's Career & Polyominos For more information on Klarner's career and polyominos in particular, I recommend this excellent article on Klarner by Solomon W. Golomb. How I came to know Klarner I got to know David in 1981 when I was an undergraduate Mathematics major at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. I then stayed in contact with him, off and on, while I was in graduate school at Stanford. I've since come to know—even more now, after putting up this web site—that many people treasured their friendship (or even occasional contact) with Klarner. If you've got a story to tell, let me know and—with your permission—I'll add it to this site! |