Jay Marvin Kappraff

Jay Marvin Kappraff, of Baltimore, Maryland, formerly of South Orange, New Jersey, passed away on Monday, January 22nd, 2024, at the age of 86. He is survived by his loving children, Sara (Jason) Neches, and Jonah Kappraff (Beth Willer); his dear brother, Ron (Steffi) Kaprov; his cherished grandchildren, Olivia Neches, and Lucas Neches; and his dear nephew, Joshua Kaprov. He was predeceased by his dear parents, Pearl and Morris Kappraff.

Jay was a polymath, a gifted educator, prolific author, humanist, scholar, musician, husband, father, grandfather, and peace activist. Jay received his B.Ch.E in chemical engineering in 1958 from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and M.S. in chemical engineering from Iowa State in 1960, followed by work at the Dupont Company in Wilmington, Delaware. He discovered his passion for education in the NY inner-city public school system in 1962, igniting a lifelong quest for innovative and accessible ways to teach mathematics. He was recruited to work at NASA as an aerospace engineer before returning to New York to complete his Ph.D in mathematics at NYU Courant Institute while serving as a professor at Cooper Union.

Jay authored more than fifty articles and four books in collaboration with the greatest minds in the arts and sciences. He diligently strove to find order within chaos and to decode the patterns underlying the universe. His proudest achievements involved shedding light on the dangers of nuclear proliferation and raising awareness of the promises and perils of technology through a long running forum series at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he was a tenured professor for 43 years. His devotion to music over his lifetime and a desire to share the joy of music with others led him to found the Music Initiative at NJIT, an expanding program of extra-curricular ensembles made up of students and faculty that is widely successful to this day.

Services at Sol Levinson's Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208, on Friday, January 26th, 2024, at 1 pm. Interment Serenity Ridge Natural Burial Cemetery and Arboretum. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to New Jersey Peace Action, 40 S Fullerton Ave, Rm 29, Montclair, NJ 07042. The family will be in mourning at 5029 Wetheredsville Road, Baltimore, MD 21207.