Hans Schneider, a UW-Madison professor for more than 30 years and a mathematician whose research in classical linear algebra led to algorithms that would help develop Google, died of esophageal cancer at age 87 Tuesday.
“Hans Schneider is one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century in the field of linear algebra and matrix analysis,” said Daniel Hershkowitz, President of Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
A professor at UW-Madison from 1959 to 1993, Schneider was named chairman of the UW-Madison mathematics department in 1966.
At 39, he became one of the youngest academics to ever attain that position at a major American research university.
To his family, Schneider was more than a mathematician.
“He was honest to a fault, extremely quick-witted and quick of mind and he adored his mathematics,” his son Peter Schneider said.
Schneider had many interests outside of mathematics and loved to travel.
“He had colleagues in Israel and Germany and really enjoyed those relationships,” his daughter Barbara Schneider said.
During his time at UW-Madison, Schneider was editor-in-chief for the math journal “Linear Algebra and its Applications,” a position now filled by his colleague Richard Brualdi.
“He was very well-read and he loved music,” Brualdi said. “He loved going to concerts in the music school.”
Schneider’s road to UW-Madison was unconventional. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1927, his family fled the Nazi occupation in 1938. They settled in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1939. He taught at Queens University Belfast in Northern Ireland before moving to Madison.
He co-founded the International Linear Algebra Society, and established the International Matrix Group in 1987. His work concerning non-negative matrices facilitated the development of Google.
While at Madison, there were no elevators to Schneider’s Bascom Hall office, but he regularly walked through another classroom and up many stairs to access it.
His daughter said he was able to keep the office for so long because of his willingness to take the extra steps.
“It was worth it to him,” she said. “He was a man with high standards and a push for excellence at all times.”
Schneider leaves behind a legacy for future generations of mathematicians.
“He encouraged aspiring mathematicians,” Brualdi said. “He was an inspiration to a lot of people in the mathematical community.”
