Chia-Kun (John) Chu (; August 14, 1927 – January 2, 2023) was a Chinese-American applied mathematician who was the Fu Foundation Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He had been on Columbia faculty since 1965 and served as the department chairman of applied physics and nuclear engineering three times (1982–1983, 1985–1988, 1995–1997).

Biography

Chu received a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Chiao-Tung University in 1948, a master's from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1950, and a Ph.D. from

Courant Institute The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU). Founded in 1935, it is named after Richard Courant, one of the founders of the Courant Institute ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1959. Chu was an internationally recognized applied mathematician and one of the pioneers of computational mathematics in fluid dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, and shock waves. He developed approximations to the differential equations of fluid dynamics and coined the term "computational fluid dynamics". Chu received numerous honors. He was a recipient of

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and was elected fellow of

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 ...

and fellow of

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science The is an Independent Administrative Institution in Japan, established for the purpose of contributing to the advancement of science in all fields of the natural and social sciences and the humanities.JSPSweb page History The Japan Society f ...

. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from

in 2006. Chia-Kun Chu was the son of bank chairman Ju Tang Chu. Chia-Kun Chu was also the brother-in-law of Z.Y. Fu, a Columbia donor who gave his name for the

Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (also known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; historically Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University, a private research university ...

. Chia-Kun Chu died on January 2, 2023, at the age of 95.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, Chia-Kun (John) 1927 births 2023 deaths 21st-century American physicists 20th-century American mathematicians National Chiao Tung University (Shanghai) alumni Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences alumni Fluid dynamicists American academics of Chinese descent Fellows of the American Physical Society Columbia University faculty Scientists from Shanghai

Biography

See also

References

Notes