David A. Klarner
David Anthony Klarner (October 10, 1940 – March 20, 1999) was an American mathematician, author, and educator. He is known for his work in combinatorial enumeration, polyominoes, and box-packing.
David A. Klarner | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Anthony Klarner October 10, 1940 |
| Died | March 20, 1999 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Alberta |
| Known for | Combinatorics Klarner's Theorem Klarner-Rado Sequence Recreational mathematics |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | University of Calgary |
| Thesis | On some combinatorial and probabilistic aspects of bipartite graphs |
| Doctoral advisor | John W. Moon |
| Doctoral students | Jean Scholtz |
Klarner was a friend and correspondent of mathematics popularizer Martin Gardner and frequently made contributions to Gardner's Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. He edited a book honoring Gardner on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Gardner in turn dedicated his twelfth collection of mathematical games columns to Klarner.
Beginning in 1969 Klarner made significant contributions to the theory of combinatorial enumeration, especially focusing on polyominoes and box-packing. Working with Ronald L. Rivest he found upper bounds on the number of n-ominoes. Klarner's Theorem is the statement that an m by n rectangle can be packed with 1-by-x rectangles if and only if x divides one of m and n.
He has also published important results in group theory and number theory, in particular working on the Collatz conjecture (sometimes called the 3x + 1 problem). The Klarner-Rado Sequence is named after Klarner and Richard Rado.