Martin Wilhelm Kutta (; 3 November 1867 – 25 December 1944) was a German

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. In 1901, he co-developed the Runge–Kutta method, used to solve ordinary differential equations numerically. He is also remembered for the Zhukovsky–Kutta aerofoil, the Kutta–Zhukovsky theorem and the

Kutta condition The Kutta condition is a principle in steady-flow fluid dynamics, especially aerodynamics, that is applicable to solid bodies with sharp corners, such as the trailing edges of airfoils. It is named for German mathematician and aerodynamicist Mart ...

aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

. Kutta was born in Pitschen,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

(today

Byczyna Byczyna (Latin: ''Bicina'', ''Bicinium''; ) is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, with 3,490 inhabitants as of December 2021. Etymology The name comes from the Old Polish word ''byczyna'', which means a place ...

, Poland). He attended the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

from 1885 to 1890, and continued his studies in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

until 1894, where he became the assistant of Walther Franz Anton von Dyck. From 1898, he spent half a year at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. From 1899 to 1909, he worked again as an assistant of von Dyck in Munich; from 1909 to 1910, he was adjunct professor at the

Friedrich Schiller University Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

. He was professor at the

RWTH Aachen RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...

from 1910 to 1912. Kutta became professor at the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

in 1912, where he stayed until his retirement in 1935. Kutta died in

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

, Germany in 1944.

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* * 1867 births 1944 deaths 19th-century German mathematicians 20th-century German mathematicians Numerical analysts Aerodynamicists People from the Province of Silesia University of Breslau alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the University of Stuttgart Academic staff of RWTH Aachen University German fluid dynamicists People from Kluczbork County {{Germany-mathematician-stub