Stanley Corrsin (3 April 1920 – 2 June 1986) was an American physicist, fluid dynamicist, and Theophilus Halley Smoot Professor of Engineering at the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. He was known for his contributions in the field of

fluid dynamics In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids – liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including (the study of air and other gases in motion ...

in general and

turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers with no disruption between ...

in particular. He was a recipient of Fluid Dynamics Prize in 1983. Corrsin died of cancer on 2 June 1986 at the age of 66.

Education and career

Corrsin was born on 3 April 1920 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1940. He entered the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

for his graduate studies and worked in the

Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory The Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT), was a research institute created in 1926, at first specializing in aeronautics research. In 1930, Hungarian scientist Theodore von Kármán accepted the di ...

under

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( , May 11, 1881May 6, 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who worked in aeronautics and astronautics. He was responsible for crucial advances in aerodynamics characterizing ...

. After receiving his M.S. degree in 1942, Corrsin joined the Ph.D. program under the supervision of

Hans Liepmann Hans Wolfgang Liepmann (July 3, 1914 – June 24, 2009) was an American fluid dynamicist, aerospace scientist and emeritus Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology. He is known for his numerou ...

and obtained the degree in 1947. His thesis work was on the flow of a turbulent jet and he was the first advisee of Liepmann. Corrsin joined the department of aeronautics at

in 1947 as an assistant professor. He became an associate professor in 1951 and then was named professor of mechanical engineering in 1955. He served as department chair of mechanical engineering from 1955 to 1960. He was at various times affiliated with the departments of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, and mechanics and materials science. In 1979, he helped found the department of chemical engineering. In 1981, he became the first Theophilus Halley Smoot Professor of Engineering at Johns Hopkins.

Principal works

Corrsin worked in both experimental and theoretical

. He made a number of fundamental contributions to the study of

, enhancing the understanding of turbulent mixing and the interfaces between turbulent and nonturbulent fluid. In later years, Corrsin developed an interest in various medical and biological problems, including human locomotion, blood flow in the human body, arterial flutter, and the aerodynamics of the

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

and of formation flying in bird flocks. During his 40 years career, Corrsin had published about a hundred research articles and supervised 25 Ph.D. students.

Awards and honors

Corrsin was a recipient of 1983 Fluid Dynamics Prize of The

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

. The citation reads: "In recognition of his contributions to the understanding of turbulent transport, through ingenious experiment and physical insight; his unique experimental approach and critical view of fluid mechanics have touched a legion of students and associates." In 1986, just before his death, the Engineering Mechanics divisions of the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

awarded him the Theodore von Kármán Medal for his contributions to the study of turbulence. In addition, in 2011, in order "to recognize and encourage a particularly influential contribution to fundamental fluid dynamics", the

established the Stanley Corrsin Award. Corrsin was a Member of

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

. In memory of Professor Stanley Corrsin, the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins has established the "Stanley Corrsin Lecture in Fluid Mechanics".

References

* P.A. Davidson, Y. Kaneda, K. Moffatt, and K.R. Sreenivasan (eds, 2011). ''A Voyage Through Turbulence'', chapter 7, pp 238–75,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

External links

*
STANLEY CORRSIN: 1920–1986 – Annual Review of Fluid MechanicsA Photograph of Stanley Corrsin

Video recording of the J.J. Riley's lecture on life and work of Stanley Corrsin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrsin, Stanley 1920 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American physicists American fluid dynamicists University of Pennsylvania alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering