Milton Denman Van Dyke (August 1, 1922 – May 10, 2010) was Professor of the Department of Aeronautics and

Astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field. The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astron ...

at Stanford University. He was known for his work in fluid dynamics, especially with respect to the use of

perturbation analysis In mathematics and applied mathematics, perturbation theory comprises methods for finding an approximate solution to a problem, by starting from the exact solution of a related, simpler problem. A critical feature of the technique is a middle ...

aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dy ...

. His often-cited book ''

An Album of Fluid Motion The book ''An Album of Fluid Motion'' is a collection of black-and-white photographs of flow visualizations for different types of fluid flows. These flows include: *Creeping flow * Laminar flow *Flow separation *Vortices * Fluid instability *Flui ...

'' presents a collection of about 400 selected black-and-white photographs of

flow visualization Flow visualization or flow visualisation in fluid dynamics is used to make the flow patterns visible, in order to get qualitative or quantitative information on them. Overview Flow visualization is the art of making flow patterns visible. M ...

in experiments, received – on his request – from researchers all over the world. Together with Bill Sears, Milton founded the ''

Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics ''Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on fluid mechanics. It is published once a year by Annual Reviews and the editors are Parviz Moin and Howard Stone. As of 2022, ''Journal Citation Repor ...

'', in 1969, for which he was an editor until 2000.

Biography

He was the son of James and Ruth (Barr) Van Dyke.Gregory, J. (1980) ''Who's Who in Engineering'', 4th ed., American Association of Engineering Societies. He studied Engineering Sciences at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, from 1940 until 1943. Thereafter he started working at

NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

Ames Laboratory Ames National Laboratory, formerly Ames Laboratory, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa, and affiliated with Iowa State University. It is a top-level national laboratory for research on national sec ...

. After the Second World War, Milton went to

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, to obtain his MS in 1947 and PhD ( magna cum laude) in 1949. A second period at Ames Laboratory followed. During this period, Milton was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship and Fulbright grant, which he used to spend the 1954–55 academic year working with

George Batchelor George Keith Batchelor FRS (8 March 1920 – 30 March 2000) was an Australian applied mathematician and fluid dynamicist. He was for many years a Professor of Applied Mathematics in the University of Cambridge, and was founding head of the ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

. He was a visiting professor at the University of Paris in the 1958–59 academic year, then in 1959 he was appointed as a professor at the new Aerodynamics department of Stanford University. He married Sylvia Jean Agard Adams in 1962 and the couple would eventually have six children. In 1976, he was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

. He was the director of Parabolic Press, an independent publisher of engineering books whose releases included a second edition of his own '' Perturbation Methods in Fluid Mechanics'' (1975) and ''

An album of fluid motion The book ''An Album of Fluid Motion'' is a collection of black-and-white photographs of flow visualizations for different types of fluid flows. These flows include: *Creeping flow * Laminar flow *Flow separation *Vortices * Fluid instability *Flui ...

'' (1982). He insisted on keeping the prices low so that students could afford the books. The first issue in 2014 of the ''

Journal of Engineering Mathematics A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'' was a special issue to honour Milton Van Dyke and his work.

Books

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Dyke, Milton 1922 births 2010 deaths Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Stanford University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty Aerodynamicists Fluid dynamicists American aerospace engineers Scientists from Chicago Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering California Institute of Technology alumni Engineers from Illinois Annual Reviews (publisher) editors Fulbright alumni