Ralph Raimi, a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Rochester and a noted consultant on K\u201312 math education, died on January 2, 2017. He was 92.<\/p>\n
Raimi joined the University faculty in 1952 as a teaching fellow, ultimately becoming a full professor of mathematics in 1966. He had far-reaching impact in multiple roles as a University administrator, including as associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Arts and Science from 1967 to 1975.<\/p>\n
After being named professor emeritus in 1995, Raimi became active in efforts to reform K\u201312 math education. Considered one of the top education experts in the country, he was a mathematics curriculum consultant to states across the country.<\/p>\n
In the field of mathematics, Raimi was best known for his writings on the first-digit problem\u2014also known as Benford\u2019s Law\u2014which was discovered by astronomer Simon Newcomb in 1881. Raimi\u2019s article \u201cThe Peculiar Distribution of First Digits\u201d appeared in the December 1969 issue of Scientific American<\/em>. He continued to receive queries on the subject thereafter, as the first-digit phenomenon has been increasingly used to detect election, scientific, and accounting fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very unusual for Scientific American<\/em> to devote long articles to mathematics,\u201d says John Harper, a professor of mathematics and Raimi\u2019s former colleague. \u201cBut Ralph had such a rigorous attitude of mind and a great ability to write clear, straightforward prose that it was only fitting that his important work on this problem was featured in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n Raimi also wrote widely on subjects outside of mathematics, self-publishing a collection of essays and a history of his high school debating society, and writing many articles and editorials on various subjects in venues from Harper\u2019s Magazine<\/em> to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cRalph had strong opinions, but his opinions were well thought out and insightful, and he was a fantastic and prolific writer,\u201d says Steve Gonek, \u00a0a professor of mathematics who worked with Raimi at the University for 15 years. \u201cHe was extremely active in the College administration in various forms. In the math department, he took knowledge and learning very seriously, but had an excellent sense of humor as well. He was a very interesting person to know.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond mathematics, Raimi\u2019s greatest love was for music. He studied flute at the Eastman School and, according to his daughter Jessica, he especially loved the Eastman School\u2019s Kilbourn Hall, where in his later years he often attended two chamber concerts a week during the concert season.<\/p>\n He had other interests; an avid photographer who developed photos in his own darkroom, Raimi also made wine from Finger Lakes grapes and received several winemaking awards. He traveled widely with his wife, Sonya, a prominent Rochester stage actress who died in 2002.<\/p>\n Raimi was born and raised in Detroit, and received a BS in physics and an MS and PhD in mathematics from the University of Michigan. He served in the Army Air Force from 1943 to 1946, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. He did not see combat, but spent the war training in electronics and repairing radar equipment. He received a Fulbright Fellowship to spend the 1949\u201350 academic year in Paris with his wife, during which he attended courses at the Sorbonne.<\/p>\n Raimi is survived by his two daughters, Diana and Jessica, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n