Provost Lawrence G. Abele established the Sir James Lighthill Distinguished Lectureship Award to honor leaders in mathematical sciences and to attract them to visit the Florida State University to give lectures, inspire students and interact with the faculty and students. The Sir James Lighthill Inaugural Lectures were delivered by Professor Peter Lax in 2004.

Sir James Lighthill, who held an honorary doctorate from FSU, was a great mathematical scientist of the twentieth century, his contributions in the diverse field of fluid dynamics were insightful, fundamental and enduring. He had an uncanny ability to find mathematical descriptions of physical processes that were deceptively simple and yet captured the essence of complex fluid dynamical phenomena in such fields as aeroacoustics, water waves and biofluiddynamics. For more than half a century the famous Lighthill acoustic analogy has formed the basis of procedures for computing the noise produced by aircraft engines. His formulation of the general principles of fluid waves has led to greater understanding and prediction capabilities for ocean currents and flood movement. His pioneering, interdisciplinary contributions to biofluiddynamics ranged from blood motion to animal flight.

Lecturers:

Professor David Keyes (2011)

Dean, Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Fu Foundation Professor of Applied Physics
Columbia University

     Brief Biography




Professor Antony Jameson (2010)

Thomas V. Jones Professor of Engineering Stanford University

     Resume




Professor Alexandre J. Chorin (2009)

University Professor
University of California at Berkeley

     Brief Biography




Professor Daniel D. Joseph (2008)

Regents Professor
Russel J. Penrose Professor Emeritus
University of Minnesota

     Brief Biography




Dr. Katepalli R. Sreenivasan (2007)

Abdus Salam Professor and Director International Centre for Theoretical Physics Trieste, Italy

     Brief Biography




Professor Steven A. Orszag (2006)

Percey F. Smith Professor, Yale University

     Brief Biography




Professor Andrew J. Majda (2005)

Morse Professor of Arts and Sciences
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
New York University

     Resume




Professor Peter Lax (2004)

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
New York University

     Resume




For additional information, please contact Susan Greenwalt (E-mail: sgreenwalt@fsu.edu, Phone: 850-644-0601)


       Last modified: January 16, 2005 *** Email-us
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