James Johnston Stoker (March 2, 1905 – October 19, 1992) was an American

applied 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 One ...

and

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 ...

. He was director of the

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU), and is among the most prestigious mathematics schools and mathematical sciences research cente ...

and is considered one of the founders of the institute, Courant and

Friedrichs Friedrichs may refer to: Names * Bob Friedrichs, American baseball pitcher * Carl Joseph Friedrichs, German printer, author and gold prospector * Friedrich Friedrichs, German World War I fighter ace * Fritz Walter Paul Friedrichs, German chemist ...

being the others. Stoker is known for his work in

differential geometry Differential geometry is a mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of differential calculus, integral calculus, linear algebra and multili ...

and theory of

water wave In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, water wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result from the wind blowing over the water surface. The contact distance in the direction of t ...

s. He is also the author of the now classic book ''Water Waves: The Mathematical Theory with Applications''.

Career

Hailing from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Stoker started his career as a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. In the 1930s, he went to

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

to pursue a doctorate in mechanics at the

Federal Institute of Technology (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

. One of the first courses he took there was by

Heinz Hopf Heinz Hopf (19 November 1894 – 3 June 1971) was a German mathematician who worked on the fields of topology and geometry. Early life and education Hopf was born in Gräbschen, Germany (now , part of Wrocław, Poland), the son of Elizabeth ( ...

on geometry. Stoker was so impressed by the subject, and the teacher, that he switched his doctoral programme to

He received his Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Hopf and

George Pólya George Pólya (; hu, Pólya György, ; December 13, 1887 – September 7, 1985) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was a professor of mathematics from 1914 to 1940 at ETH Zürich and from 1940 to 1953 at Stanford University. He made fundamental ...

. Hopf later recommended Stoker to

Richard Courant Richard Courant (January 8, 1888 – January 27, 1972) was a German American mathematician. He is best known by the general public for the book '' What is Mathematics?'', co-written with Herbert Robbins. His research focused on the areas of real ...

. In 1937 Stoker, along with Courant's former student

Kurt O. Friedrichs Kurt Otto Friedrichs (September 28, 1901 – December 31, 1982) was a noted German-American mathematician. He was the co-founder of the Courant Institute at New York University, and a recipient of the National Medal of Science. Biography Friedri ...

, joined Courant in the Department of Mathematics at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. With Stoker's engineering background and Friedrichs' mastery in mathematics, the two were effectively collaborated on many applied problems such as plate theory. On Courant's retirement in 1958 Stoker succeeded him as director and served until 1966. It was during Stoker's period as director, the Institute acquired greater autonomy within the University framework. It became the

in 1965. Friedrichs succeeded Stoker as director in 1966.

Honors and awards

*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, ...

selected Stoker as the Josiah Willards Gibbs lecturer for 1961. *In 1970, Stoker received the

Timoshenko Medal The Timoshenko Medal is an award given annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to an individual "in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics." The Timoshenko Medal, widely regarded as th ...

in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics.

Books

''Differential Geometry''
Wiley-Interscience (1989). *''Water Waves: The Mathematical Theory with Applications'', Wiley-Interscience (1957)
1992 pbk reprint
Stoker's book on "Water Waves" is a significant work which summarises the state of knowledge in water wave theory in 1957. The focus is on linear wave theory. *''Nonlinear Vibrations in Mechanical and Electrical Systems'', Wiley-Interscience (1950).

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoker, James J. Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences faculty ETH Zurich alumni 20th-century American mathematicians 1905 births 1992 deaths American textbook writers