Diederik Johannes Korteweg (31 March 1848 – 10 May 1941) was a Dutch
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, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
. He is now best remembered for his work on the
Korteweg–de Vries equation, together with
Gustav de Vries
Gustav de Vries (22 January 1866 – 16 December 1934) was a Dutch mathematician, who is best remembered for his work on the Korteweg–de Vries equation with Diederik Korteweg. He was born on 22 January 1866 in Amsterdam, and studied at th ...
.
Early life and education
Diederik Korteweg's father was a judge in
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
,
Netherlands
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. Korteweg received his schooling there, studying at a special academy which prepared students for a military career. However, he decided against a military career and, making the first of his changes of direction, he began his studies at the
Polytechnical School of Delft
Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...
. Korteweg originally intended to become an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
but, although he maintained an interest in mechanics and other applications of mathematics throughout his life, his love of mathematics made him change direction for the second time when he was not enjoying the technical courses at Delft. He decided to terminate his course and pull out of his studies so that he could concentrate on mathematics. He then enrolled in mathematics and mechanics courses qualifying him to become a high school teacher.
In 1878, Korteweg received a Ph.D. from the
University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
. His dissertation was titled ''On the Propagation of Waves in Elastic Tubes''. He was the first Ph.D. recipient from that University after it received authority to grant the doctorate.
[''staff.science'']
In 1881, Korteweg joined the University of Amsterdam as Professor of Mathematics, Mechanics and Astronomy. While there he published a notable paper in ''Philosophical Magazine'' titled "On the Change of Form of Long Waves . . ". He stepped down as a professor in 1918.
Some of his famous students were
Gustav de Vries
Gustav de Vries (22 January 1866 – 16 December 1934) was a Dutch mathematician, who is best remembered for his work on the Korteweg–de Vries equation with Diederik Korteweg. He was born on 22 January 1866 in Amsterdam, and studied at th ...
,
Gerrit Mannoury
Gerrit Mannoury (17 May 1867 – 30 January 1956) was a Dutch philosopher and mathematician, professor at the University of Amsterdam and communist, known as the central figure in the signific circle, a Dutch counterpart of the Vienna circle.J ...
and
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer
Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (; ; 27 February 1881 – 2 December 1966), usually cited as L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher, who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and compl ...
.
Honors and societies
Korteweg was a member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
for 60 years. He was a member of the Dutch Mathematical Society for 75 years. He was editor of ''Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde'' from 1897 to his death in 1941.
An experiment conducted aboard the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
in 2003 (''Miscible Fluids in Microgravity'') was mounted to prove one of Korteweg's theories.
[ NASA website, accessed 7 Sept. 2009]
The asteroid
9685 Korteweg and the
Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics
The Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics (KdVI) is the institute for mathematical research at the University of Amsterdam. The KdVI is located in Amsterdam at the Amsterdam Science Park.
Robbert Dijkgraaf, Alexander Schrijver, Nicolai Resh ...
are named after him.
See also
*
Cnoidal wave
In fluid dynamics, a cnoidal wave is a nonlinear and exact periodic wave solution of the Korteweg–de Vries equation. These solutions are in terms of the Jacobi elliptic function ''cn'', which is why they are coined ''cn''oidal waves. They are ...
*
Korteweg–de Vries equation
*
Moens–Korteweg equation
In biomechanics, the Moens–Korteweg equation models the relationship between wave speed or pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the incremental elastic modulus of the arterial wall or its distensibility. The equation was derived independently by Adriaa ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Korteweg, Diederik Johannes
1848 births
1941 deaths
20th-century Dutch mathematicians
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
People from 's-Hertogenbosch
Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam
Delft University of Technology alumni
Fluid dynamicists
19th-century Dutch mathematicians