Richard Clyde DiPrima (1927 to 1984) was a professor of applied mechanics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, specializing in

hydrodynamic stability In fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic stability is the field which analyses the stability and the onset of instability of fluid flows. The study of hydrodynamic stability aims to find out if a given flow is stable or unstable, and if so, how these inst ...

and

lubrication theory In fluid dynamics, lubrication theory describes the flow of fluids (liquids or gases) in a geometry in which one dimension is significantly smaller than the others. An example is the flow above air hockey tables, where the thickness of the air ...

. DiPrima studied at Carnegie Mellon University attaining B.A. M.S. and Ph.D. there. He wrote his thesis under George H. Handelman. He continued his studies, first at MIT with C. C. Lin, and then for two years at Harvard with

Bernard Budiansky Bernard Budiansky (8 March 1925 – 23 January 1999) was an American scholar in the field of applied mechanics, and made seminal contributions to the mechanics of structures and mechanics of materials. He was a recipient of the Timoshenko Medal. ...

and George Carrier. In Boston he married Maureen. DiPrima was employed at Hughes Aircraft for a year in their laboratory. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute acquired his services in 1957; he was promoted to associate professor in 1959. He was made a full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

in 1962. From 1972 to 1981 he served as chair of the department of mathematical sciences. He joined William E. Boyce to write ''Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems'', a

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

that went to eight editions. DiPrima was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics, and of the American Physical Society. He was a member 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, ...

, the Mathematical Association of America, and of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In administrative service, he served as president of SIAM, and as chair of the executive committee of the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME. DiPrima was a

Fulbright fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in 1964 and 1983, and had a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1982. He received the W.H. Wiley distinguished faculty award in 1980 from Rensselaer. In 1988 SIAM began awarding the

Richard C. DiPrima Prize The Richard C. DiPrima Prize is awarded every two years by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics to an early career researcher who has done outstanding research in applied mathematics. First awarded in 1988, it honors the memory of R ...

every two years. DiPrima died on September 10, 1984. One year later a conference dedicated to the memory of DiPrima was held at Rensselaer, and the ''Proceedings'' published.Donald A. Drew (author) & Joseph E. Flaherty (editor) (1986) ''Mathematics Applied to Fluid Mechanics and Stability: Proceedings of a Conference Dedicated to Richard C. DiPrima'', Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Selected works

* 1966: (with R. Soni) "The convergence of the Galerkin method for the Taylor–Dean stability problem", Quarterly of Applied Mathematics 23(4): 183. * 1969 (with G. J. Hobitler) "A completeness theorem for non-self-adjoint eigenvalue problems in hydrodynamic stability",

Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis The ''Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis'' is a scientific journal that is devoted to research in mechanics as a deductive, mathematical science. The current editors in chief of the journal are Felix Otto and Vladimir Sverak. It was fo ...

* 1970: (with S. Kogelman) "Stability of spatially periodic supercritical flows in hydrodynamics",

Physics of Fluids ''Physics of Fluids'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering fluid dynamics, established by the American Institute of Physics in 1958, and is published by AIP Publishing. The journal focus is the dynamics of gases, liquids, an ...

13: 1–11 * 1978: (with J. Trevor Stuart) "The Eckhaus and Benjamin-Feir Resonance Mechanisms",

Proceedings of the Royal Society A ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life ...

362: 27, issue 1708, * 2006: (with P.M.Eagles & Trevor Stuart) "The effects of eccentricity on torque and load in Taylor-vortex flow",

Journal of Fluid Mechanics The ''Journal of Fluid Mechanics'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of fluid mechanics. It publishes original work on theoretical, computational, and experimental aspects of the subject. The journal is published by Cambridge U ...

87(2): 209

References

* {{MathGenealogy, id=14724 1927 births 1984 deaths American fluid dynamicists American textbook writers Carnegie Mellon University alumni Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty