Paul R. Meyer ’51

Paul R. Meyer ’51 died on August 24. He will be remembered for two lifelong passions: the outdoors and mathematics, which he taught for 35 years. Paul’s Dartmouth years were notable for his enthusiastic involvement in the College’s many outdoor activities. He was an active member of Cabin & Trail, the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club, and the Outing Club. His love for nature, conservation, hiking, skiing, camping, canoeing, and birding stayed with him for the rest of his life. Academically, he earned degrees in business and engineering as part of Dartmouth’s five-year Tuck-Thayer program. He was honored with the Churchill Prize for outstanding academic achievement and citizenship. After graduation Paul served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in Japan, where he made sure to climb Mount Fuji. He joined Eastman Kodak as an engineer but soon enrolled at Columbia University, where he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics. He began his college teaching career as a professor of mathematics at Hunter College and then at Lehman College in New York City, where he remained until his retirement in 1999. His academic career included numerous visiting appointments in the United States and abroad. He published 25 scholarly journal articles in the field of topology. Upon retirement, Paul moved to Middlebury, Vermont. He led numerous Audubon Society nature cruises, indulging his interest in birding in all parts of the world. He was praised for his knowledge of and interest in science, literature, current events, history, and physics.