Life

He was born on March 5, 1921 in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.
He received a bachelor's degree from the Cooper Union

Cooper Union

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...

 in 1942 and a master's from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

Polytechnic University of New York

The Polytechnic Institute of New York University, often referred to as Polytechnic Institute of NYU, NYU Polytechnic, or NYU-Poly, is the engineering and applied sciences affiliate of New York University...

 in 1947, where he taught from 1948 until 1957. After this Klamkin worked at AVCO

Avco

Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming.-Brief history:The Embry-Riddle Company created the Aviation Corporation in 1928 as a holding company tasked with acquiring small airlines...

, taught at SUNY Buffalo

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...

 (1962–1964), and worked on the Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 research staff (1965–1976). During this period, he was also a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

. After leaving Ford, he became a professor at the University of Waterloo

University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...

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From 1976 to 1981 Klamkin was the chairman of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Alberta

University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

. After 1981 he became an emeritus

Emeritus

Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...

 professor at Alberta. Klamkin died August 6, 2004.

Mathematical problems

Klamkin was known as a proposer and editor of mathematical problems. He served as problem editor for SIAM Review, the American Mathematical Monthly

American Mathematical Monthly

The American Mathematical Monthly is a mathematical journal founded by Benjamin Finkel in 1894. It is currently published 10 times each year by the Mathematical Association of America....

, and many other journals. He was also known
for his work in mathematics competitions, such as the USAMO

United States of America Mathematical Olympiad

The United States of America Mathematical Olympiad is a high school mathematics competition held annually in the United States. Since its debut in 1972, it has served as the final round of the AMC series of contests...

, the International Mathematical Olympiad

International Mathematical Olympiad

The International Mathematical Olympiad is an annual six-problem, 42-point mathematical olympiad for pre-collegiate students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980...

, and the Putnam Competition

William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to the Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students of the United States and Canada, awarding scholarships and cash prizes ranging from $250 to $2,500 for the top students and $5,000...

. In 1992, the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions awarded Klamkin the David Hilbert Award for his contributions to mathematics competitions.

Selected bibliography

• "The asymmetric propeller", Leon Bankoff, Paul Erdös, and Murray S. Klamkin, Mathematics Magazine 46, #5 (November 1973), pp. 270–272.
• International Mathematical Olympiads, 1978–1985 and Forty Supplementary Problems, ed. Murray S. Klamkin, pub. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America
  Mathematical Association of America
  The Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
  
  , 1986. ISBN 088386631X.
• Mathematical Modelling: Classroom Notes in Applied Mathematics, ed. Murray S. Klamkin, pub. Philadelphia, PA: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
  Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
  The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics was founded by a small group of mathematicians from academia and industry who met in Philadelphia in 1951 to start an organization whose members would meet periodically to exchange ideas about the uses of mathematics in industry. This meeting led...
  
  , 1987. ISBN 0898712041.
• U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiads, 1972–1986, ed. Murray S. Klamkin, pub. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 1988. ISBN 0883856344.
• Problems in Applied Mathematics: Selections from SIAM Review, ed. Murray S. Klamkin, pub. Philadelphia, PA: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 1990. ISBN 0898712599.
• Five Hundred Mathematical Challenges, Edward J. Barbeau, Murray S. Klamkin, and William O. J. Moser, pub. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 1995. ISBN 0883855194. A collection of problems posed by Klamkin in Crux Mathematicorum with Mathematical Mayhem.