The late Frank E. Gerth III *72, a mathematician who taught for 30 years at the University of Texas at Austin after receiving his PhD from Princeton, has shaped a meaningful legacy at the University by providing fellowships for students in the Department of Mathematics. The fellowships, which Gerth established in the names of his father and grandfather—the Frank Gerth Jr. and Frank Gerth Sr. Graduate Fellowships at Princeton—were created through a charitable remainder trust he established during his lifetime combined with a significant portion of his estate.

After graduating from Rice University in 1967, Gerth embarked on a career in computer science, and helped to create the computer programs that guided the Apollo moon landing in 1969. Later, his master’s and doctoral work at Princeton allowed him to explore other areas of mathematics. He was well known for his research on algebraic number theory, and published more than 70 articles. In the great tradition of Princeton’s teacher scholars, Gerth won awards for excellence in the teaching of mathematics during his tenure at the University of Texas.

“Education was extremely important to him,” says Gerth’s brother, Richard. “He was able to take his accomplishments in life—his devotion to the teaching of mathematics as well as his very shrewd investment ability and attention to financial and tax planning—to create permanent and long-term benefits for higher education.”

Princeton, the University of Texas, and Rice University are all beneficiaries of Gerth’s generosity. The gift he made to each institution reflects his own academic career: undergraduate support at Rice; graduate fellowships at Princeton; and support for associate professorships at the University of Texas. He was also able to memorialize the names of his mother and grandmother through the gifts at Rice, and his own name through his gifts to the University of Texas.

“Princeton appreciates the care that this renowned mathematician devoted to working out these complex gift arrangements,” said Ronald A. Brown ’72, director of gift planning. “The Gerth Fellowship is a fitting tribute to his expertise with numbers, as well as to his caring for giving back to the place he loved so well.”

(Pictured above: Frank E. Gerth III *72 (right) with astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969 after historic moon landing.)