Gelbart showed an interest in mathematics and science from an early age, when his father read him newspaper accounts about Einstein and the theory of relativity.

... the philosophy, history, and expository treatment of mathematics. ... the pages of the periodical will therefore be devoted chiefly to the history an philosophy of mathematics.

A given ellipse moves in a plane so that it is always tangent to a fixed straight line at a given point. derive the equation of the locus of its centre.

Of all the lines through vertex A of triangle ABC, there is just one which meets BC in the point D such that the incircles of triangles ABD and ACD are equal. Show that this line AD may be constructed by ruler and compasses.

One of the most fundamental formulas in the theory of functions of one complex variable is the Cauchy integral formula. It is of particular value in the Weierstrass-Hadamard approach, i.e., in obtaining properties of a function from the coefficients of its power series expansion. A similar formula cannot be obtained for functions of two complex variables for an arbitrary four-dimensional domain, as is obtained, for instance, for the bicylinder, where the integration is taken over a two-dimensional surface on the boundary. Bergman (1934, 1936) has shown, however, that for certain domains far more general than those previously considered, i.e., domains bounded by a finite number of analytic hypersurfaces, an analogous formula does exist, the double integral being taken essentially over the two-dimensional surface common to two or more of the analytic bounding hypersurfaces.

In this paper we shall obtain growth properties in terms of the coefficients of the power series expansion of a function $f (z_{1}, z_{2})$ of two complex variables analytic in special domains of the type mentioned above; first, with the aid of Bergman's integral formula, along the two-dimensional surfaces common to the bounding hypersurfaces, and then, along a class of two-dimensional surfaces lying in only one of the bounding hypersurfaces and having a line of contact with another bounding hypersurface. We also obtain a mapping theorem which determines from the coefficients a convex region in the $f_{1} f_{2}$-plane, $f (z_{1}, z_{2}) = f_{1} + if_{2}$ which must be contained in the smallest convex region of the mapping on the ½-plane of the surfaces considered.

The basic idea was to construct a theory similar to complex function theory for the solutions of a system of generalized Cauchy-Riemann equations arising in the mechanics of continua.

The results of this paper were obtained while the authors participated in the program of Advanced Instruction and Research in Mechanics at Brown University, Summer, 1942. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Professor Prager for the many profitable discussions they had with him and for his constant encouragement.

Gelbart and Arthur Milgram (1912-1961) had a fight about whether Gelbart had a proof to an analog of the Riemann Mapping Theorem for sigma monogenic functions. Gelbart said he had, and Milgram said he didn't. Gelbart threw Milgram out of his office and the department was supposed to choose up sides. It was hard because some people ... tried to remain on the fence. You know, they wanted no part of it, including Loewner, who tried valiantly to remain on the fence. But there were very strong efforts to make everyone commit himself one way or another, and one day Professor Rosenbloom took it upon himself to go to the Dean's office and say that unless something or other happened ... he and a great many others were going to leave, and the Dean said he was sorry if that was the case and that was the way he felt, but that was the way things were. ... When we had this problem here in 1948-51, as a result of that, eventually, not all at once, but eventually, Loewner left, Bers left, a good deal later, but still left, Gelbart ...

A search for a new chairman was begun ... but no satisfactory appointment seemed possible. ... The problem, in large part, was that very sharp dissension had split the department several ways. Kibbey was an obvious candidate for the job and it was he who carried out the day-to-day administration of the department as soon as Cairns left. Exner, Gilbert, and Morgan supported Kibbey in the matter. The senior members of the Department (Bers, Loewner, Gelbart and Milgram) wanted a well-known mathematician of some sort to have the job, so that they rejected Kibbey strongly. ... At the end of that spring semester [1950] the dean appointed Kibbey as the department chairman. By the end of the following year Bers, Milgram, Protter, Rosenbloom and Loewner had left. That year I had several job offers, none of which seemed really attractive. Staying at Syracuse as a member of the defeated opposition to Kibbey's appointment was not particularly attractive ...

During the academic year 1952-53 the House Committee on Un-American affairs interviewed "Ted" Martin who had been department chairman at Syracuse before Stewart Cairns. Martin stated that he had been a member of the Communist Party during the beginning of the time he was in Syracuse. In response to questions from the Committee, Martin named several people in the Syracuse area who had also been party members. This list included Abe Gelbart. Dean Faigle ... told me that the University intended to do what it could to help Gelbart. I was told that Gelbart had always done his job carefully, competently, and with great consideration for his students. His private opinions, if he had any, had not affected his work as a professor and he was not to be persecuted for them. ... The university found Gelbart a lawyer who had been an assistant secretary of state under President Coolidge. What happened when Gelbart came before the committee I do not know, except that "Ted" Martin eventually said that he could have been mistaken about Gelbart. The experience was a very bad one for Gelbart. He and I never talked about mathematics afterwards. He was not in the mood.

... introduced a government-sponsored program to improve the background and motivation of high school science and mathematics teachers in the New York City area. Gelbart also made efforts to convince government bodies and the general public about the need for basic research and for support of mathematics.

A prize honoring a woman whose life was devoted to the encouragement of science and scholarship and given annually to the student who shows the most promise and produces outstanding work in mathematics.