Emeritus Professor of Mathematics
Passed by the IUPUI Faculty Council at their meeting on September 4, 2007.
A man of strong beliefs and convictions, Dr. J. Conrad “Connie” Crown was involved in many activities and he had a wide range of interests. His childhood home was just two short blocks from the beach, and he enjoyed water sports and collecting shells. He also enjoyed boomerangs and mushroom hunting. Connie was an avid cook and developed numerous recipes. He loved traveling all over the world—including Polynesia, the South Seas, the Caribbean and Europe. He also loved folk dancing, music and languages. His interest in the peace movement was evidenced by his involvement in a protest at Kent State University, and in 1969, because of his refusal to aid the Vietnam War effort, he eventually left the aerodynamics industry to become a Professor of Mathematics at IUPUI.
At IUPUI he developed a strong interest in numerical analysis (especially numerical solutions of differential equations), linear programming and operations research. He co-authored several mathematics textbooks on modeling and finite mathematics with Marvin Bittinger. He was also involved in research in the area of nutritional analysis.
Connie was well known and considered to be an “excellent instructor”—particularly in very large classes. He served as a course coordinator and developed several new courses in applied mathematics. He provided great service to the department, serving on various committees, as well as serving as the first graduate program director of the department. In this capacity, he showed great kindness toward new graduate students, leading and directing students to achieve their goals in higher education.
Dr. J. Conrad Crown was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. He received a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering in 1943 from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Following graduation, he worked as an aerodynamicist for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Moffett Field in Northern California and then for the Naval Ordinance Laboratory in White Oak, Maryland. While at NACA, he also served in the United States Navy and was a volunteer fireman. He earned an M.S. in 1962 and his Ph.D. in 1965 in Physics from the University of Connecticut while working as an aerodynamicist at United Aircraft Corporation, and later at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.
Following his retirement in 1989, he moved to Seattle, Washington with his second wife, Linda, and lived there until his death. In Seattle, Connie continued developing nutritional recipes, analyzing voting systems, and working on the development of a phonetic alphabet.
Dr. Conrad passed away in Seattle, Washington, on January 26, 2007, at the age of 85. He left one brother, three children, two grandchildren and many dear friends and colleagues. He is certain to be missed by those who knew him!
Bart Ng, Mathematical Sciences, IUPUI
Robert Rigdon, Mathematical Sciences, IUPUI (Emeritus)
Jeffrey Watt, Mathematical Sciences, IUPUI