Daniel "Dan" Francis Knopf

It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, Dan Knopf.

Daniel “Dan” Francis Knopf was born on April 20th, 1959, in New York and died in Austin, Texas, on August 3rd, 2025. He was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and considered himself a true cheesehead who loved cooking and eating and the Green Bay Packers. Dan earned his PhD in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1999 and joined the University of Texas at Austin in 2004 as a professor of mathematics. He later became a graduate adviser and served as associate dean for graduate education in the College of Natural Sciences, where he shaped and supported graduate education for nearly two decades.

Dan saw himself as an advocate and resource for the students under his care and took incredible pride in helping them navigate their careers and lives at the university. He fondly called them “my kids” and took his duty of stewardship very seriously. His greatest joy came in his dedication to and service of these graduate students. In addition, he was a prolific author of research and discourse in his field of geometric analysis, which uses tools from calculus, differential equations, and functional analysis to study geometric problems. He loved math and bad math jokes (or any jokes, really).

Away from his professional world, Dan’s life was filled with loved ones and with cats. He proudly espoused the joys of Cat Dad life. He also loved to travel and find new adventures with his many friends scattered near and far. He was always quick to regale friends with tales of his life over a delicious meal he expertly cooked. As a lifelong Catholic, he continued to find warmth and connection in his church community at St. Austin’s in Austin, TX. His parents, Frank and Mary Ann Knopf predeceased him. He is survived by extended family on his father’s side in upstate New York, by many loving friends, and by his beloved godchildren, Elise Spence, William Steele, and Eleanor Lewis-Peacock.

The sudden loss of Dan has sent shockwaves of sadness across his communities. It is the rare person who manages to be beloved by so many. His warmth, humor, and spark were so much appreciated and will be sorely missed.

“In the darkest times, music can be a ray of light”

~Patti Griffin

“When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety.

When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile. We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity. Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid, promised walks never taken.

Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us. Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened. Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away. We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark, cold Caves.

And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.”

~ “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou

“Always leave them with a joke.”

~Dan could have said that. Not sure if he did. But he definitely would have.

Q: Who invented the Round Table?

A: Sir Cumference

Q: Why can you never trust a math teacher holding graphing paper?

A: They must be plotting something.

Q: Why DID seven eat nine?

A: Because you’re supposed to eat 3 squared meals a day!

Q: What do you get when you take the sun and divide its circumference by its diameter?

A: Pi in the sky

Q: Why did the chicken cross the Möbius Strip?

A: To get to the same side.

Q: Why is infinity so comforting?

A: Because it reminds us that some things never really end.

A sample of email quotes from Dan:

“The purpose of laundry is two fold.”

"Life is full of humor–you just have to see it"

“My Fantasy Football Team is named the "Tangent Vectors." I am TWCitL (The Worst Coach in the League.)”

“Life is an incurable disease whose inevitable outcome is death So, it’s best to be prepared.”

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his honor. We suggest honoring his work at UT Austin - donations go directly to supporting “his kids” (graduate students).

An endowment for graduate student support at UT Austin has been set up to honor Dan’s memory. If you wish to contribute, please use this link or mail donations to:

The University of Texas at Austin

Texas Gift Operations

1 University Station, Mail Stop A3000

Austin, TX 78712

https://give.utexas.edu/campaigns/59328/donations/new?designation_id=OGPNSOTE&comments=Dan%20Knopf%20Endowment%20for%20Graduate%20Education%20for%20graduate%20student%20support