Andreas Acrivos (13 June 1928 – 17 February 2025) was a

Greek-American Greek Americans ( ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. There is an estimate of 1.2 million Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. According to the US census, 264,066 people o ...

physicist who was the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Engineering at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. He was also the director of the Benjamin Levich Institute for Physicochemical Hydrodynamics.

Life and career

Born in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece, Acrivos moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to pursue an engineering education. He received a bachelor's degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1950; a master's degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1951; and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1954, all in chemical engineering. Acrivos is considered to be one of the leading

fluid dynamicists In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously move and deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot re ...

of the 20th century. In 1954, Acrivos joined the faculty at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In 1962, he moved to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he worked with Professor David Mason to build chemical engineering programs. In 1977, he was elected as a member into the

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 ...

for contributions in the application of mathematical analysis to the understanding of fundamental phenomena in chemical engineering processes. In 1987, Acrivos joined as the Albert Einstein Professor of Science and Engineering at The City College of the City University of New York, succeeding Veniamin Levich. From 1982 to 1997, Acrivos served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

Physics of Fluids ''Physics of Fluids'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering fluid dynamics, established by the American Institute of Physics in 1958, and is published by AIP Publishing. The journal focus is the dynamics (physics), dynamics of gas ...

. Acrivos died in

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...

, on 17 February 2025, at the age of 96.

Awards and honors

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

, 2001 * Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, 1993 * Fluid Dynamics Prize, 1991 *

G. I. Taylor Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor Order of Merit, OM Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (7 March 1886 – 27 June 1975) was a British physicist and mathematician, who made contributions to fluid dynamics and wave theory. Early life and education Tayl ...

Medal, Society of Engineering Science, 1988 * Elected as a member into the

, 1977 *Acrivos has been listed as an ISI Highly Cited Author in Engineering by the

ISI Web of Knowledge The Web of Science (WoS; previously known as Web of Knowledge) is a paid-access platform that provides (typically via the internet) access to multiple databases that provide reference and citation data from academic journals, conference proceedi ...

, Thomson Scientific Company.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acrivos, Andreas 1928 births 2025 deaths City College of New York faculty Fluid dynamicists Greek emigrants to the United States 20th-century Greek physicists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering National Medal of Science laureates Engineers from Athens Stanford University School of Engineering faculty University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni UC Berkeley College of Engineering faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American chemical engineers Fellows of Clare Hall, Cambridge Minnesota CEMS Physics of Fluids editors Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science alumni