Diane Marie Henderson is an American applied mathematician, specializing in

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 ...

and mathematical

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

. Unusually for a mathematics professor, some of her research involves physical experiments with

wave tank A wave tank is a laboratory setup for observing the behavior of surface waves. The typical wave tank is a box filled with liquid, usually water, leaving open or air-filled space on top. At one end of the tank, an actuator generates waves; the othe ...

s, high speed cameras, and oil droplets. Henderson earned her Ph.D. in

physical oceanography Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is div ...

from the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

in 1990. Her dissertation, ''Faraday Waves'', was supervised by

John W. Miles John Wilder Miles (December 1, 1920 – October 20, 2008) was a research professor emeritus of applied mechanics and geophysics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. He was well regarded for his pioneering w ...

. She is a professor of mathematics at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and one of two faculty members leading the William G. Pritchard Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University. Henderson is a 1992 Packard Foundation Fellow. She was awarded a

Sloan Research Fellowship The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This program is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. ...

in 1996.

References

External links

Home pageMy Career in Modeling
The Actual Life of Pi (blog post by a student about Henderson's research) {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Diane Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians University of California, San Diego alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty Sloan Research Fellows 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians