Gary L. Welz

Summary

Mathematics and all the sciences have entered a remarkable new phase in their brief history. Until about 1450, scientific information was written by hand one copy at a time. Then the printing press put hundreds of copies of the latest scientific books into circulation with drawings of plants and other specimens recorded faithfully in all copies. Since the 1970s, scientists have begun to communicate through the circulation of films, videotapes, and computer animations. Soon, television will be used by scientists to communicate their discoveries to the entire world instantly and with the enormous visual advantage of animation—moving pictures! It is my great pleasure to participate in this historic change.

My first love in mathematics was logic. I came to the subject from philosophy because I loved the certainty of mathematics and its rigor. When I graduated from Bedford College in 1977, I decided that I'd had enough certainty and entered the very uncertain world of show business. I spent the next 12 years devoted to acting, directing, writing, and producing for both the stage and screen. In the mid-80s I was astonished by the beauty and significance of the computer graphics that were being created by mathematicians in their research. That gave me the inspiration, or should I say obsession, to help ferry mathematics and other sciences into the television age. Ever since, I have enjoyed bringing together the two very diverse worlds that fascinate me.