Walter H. Gottschalk
Walter H. Gottschalk, Professor of Emeritus of Wesleyan University since 1983, is a 1934 graduate of Andrew Lewis High School in Salem, Virginia. Between 1934-44, he received his B.S.; M.A.; and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Dr. Gottschalk has authored entries in 33 publications on various aspects of mathematics and has co-authored six more, with an emphasis on transformations and topological dynamics.
From 1944-63, Walter advanced form instructor to professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, serving as Chairman of the Department in 1955-58. In 1963 he became professor of mathematics at Wesleyan University; Chairman of the Mathematics Department twice: ‘64-69; ‘70-72; and, since 1982 has enjoyed professor emeritus status there.
Dr. Gottschalk, born November 3, 1918 in Lynchburg, Virginia, has been married to Margaret Hemsworth Gottschalk for 44 years; their children are: Heather and Steven.
Listed in American Men of Science since 1948 and in Who’s Who in America since 1968, this Phi Beta Kappa student holds membership in fifteen mathematics-related associations and has been a member of, secretary to, exhibitor, editor, referee, or researcher for twenty additional mathematical entities. But, his prized accomplishments are his students: “Each of three universities hired two of my Ph.D. students. They are: University of Maryland; University of Minnesota; Howard University. They liked the first five so well, they hired another.” As early as 1951 Dr. Gottschalk was supervising the dissertation preparation of his students of mathematics, seven at the university of Pennsylvania and fifteen at Wesleyan, with the last in 1980 on the subject: “Aspects of Convexity in Billiard Ball Dynamical Systems.” Complex titles are also involved in the theses for Masters degrees he has supervised over the years.
Dr. Gottschalk was a member of the Institute for Advance Study at Princeton University in 1947-48 and the Research Association at Yale University in 1960-61. In 1955, he co-authored with Dr. G.A. Hedlund “Topological Dynamics,” with updated reprints in 1968 and 1974. From 1967 to 1975, Dr. Gottschalk was a member of the Editorial Board of Math Systems Theory, along with his duties as professor, researcher, counselor, and reviewer not only of American but from 1963-67 of a German publication, too.
In recognition of his outstanding career achievements, in 1996 Walter Helbig Gottschalk was among the charter members inducted into the Salem Alumni Hall of Fame established by the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association.
