Constantine Michael Dafermos (
Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Δαφέρμος; born May 26, 1941,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
) is a
Greek-American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
applied mathematician. He received a Diploma in Civil
Engineering from the
National Technical University of Athens
The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...
(1964) and a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in Mechanics from
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
under the direction of
Jerald Ericksen
Jerald LaVerne Ericksen (December 20, 1924 – June 11, 2021) was an American mathematician specializing in continuum mechanics.
Biography
Ericksen was born in Portland, Oregon. His father Adolf worked at a Portland creamery and became adept at ...
(1967). He has been an Assistant Professor at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
(1968-1971) and an Associate Professor (1971-1975) and Professor (1975-) in the Division of Applied Mathematics at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. Since 1984, he has been the Alumni-Alumnae University Professor at Brown.
In recent years, his research has focused on nonlinear hyperbolic systems of
conservation law
In physics, a conservation law states that a particular measurable property of an isolated physical system does not change as the system evolves over time. Exact conservation laws include conservation of energy, conservation of linear momentum, c ...
s whose solutions spontaneously develop singularities propagating as
shock waves. In particular, he is studying the interplay between
thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of the ...
and analysis in the theory of these systems and he is analyzing the fundamental role of
entropy
Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynam ...
as a stabilizing agent.
In 2012 he became a fellow of the
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
.
In 2016 he was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
.
Awards
*Honorary Doctorate, University of Athens, 1987.
*Honorary Doctorate, National Technical University (Greece), 1991.
*Honorary Doctorate, University of Crete, 2001.
*SIAM W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize, 2000.
*
Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics, 2016
Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics 2016
/ref>
Affiliations
*Fellow American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2001-.
*Correspondent Member, Academy of Athens, 1988-.
*Honorary Professor, Academia Sinica, China, 2004-.
*Member, Board of Governors, Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), 1995-.
Notes
Sources
*Brown University, The Division of Applied Mathematics (http://www.dam.brown.edu/)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dafermos, Constantine
Greek mathematicians
National Technical University of Athens alumni
Brown University faculty
Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Living people
1941 births
Scientists from Athens
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Cornell University faculty
Greek emigrants to the United States