Flinders University Adjunct Associate Professor of mathematics Jerry Kautsky passed away on Wednesday 10 February. Having joined Flinders shortly after the University was formed in the 1960s, Associate Professor Kautsky retired in 2009 but continued as an active adjunct faculty member in the College of Science and Engineering until his unexpected passing.

His colleague Associate Professor Murk Bottema remembered Associate Professor Kautsky’s area of expertise was numerical analysis and image processing. He made deep contributions to theoretical and practical aspects of ‘wavelets’ and worked in collaboration with world leaders in that field. Throughout his career, he maintained strong and fruitful research connections with the Academy of Science in the Czech Republic and with researchers in the United States.

In 2013, Associate Professor Kautsky was the recipient of the Bernard Bolzano Honorary medal for Merit in the Mathematical Sciences, awarded by the Czech Academy of Science.

“His mathematical insight was deep and original and in personal conversation he had a talent for upending long held perspectives of mathematical ideas,” says Associate Professor Bottema. “This he would impart in a few well-chosen words, the depth of which would become clear to listener only over time. He possessed a remarkable intellect and a dry sense of humour that often required untangling a cryptic remark.”

Associate Professor Kautsky was a keen bridge player and, as a younger man, an excellent skier. He will be missed and fondly remembered. He is survived by Dana, his wife of 60 years, and two sons, Jan and Peter.