Ven Te Chow (; October 7, 1919,

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

, China, – July 30, 1981), was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

engineer. He was a widely recognized

hydrologist Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

and

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

, acclaimed for his contributions to hydrology and water resources development. He was a

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 ...

of Civil and Hydrosystems Engineering at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He received his B.S. degree in civil engineering from the

National Chiao Tung University National Chiao Tung University (NCTU; ) was a public research university located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After th ...

in 1940, his M.S. degree in engineering mechanics from Pennsylvania State University in 1948, and his Ph.D. degree in

hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the m ...

from the University of Illinois in 1950. Chow joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in the Department of Civil Engineering in 1948 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1962. Some of his unusual contributions include his watershed experimentation system, which produced storms in the laboratory using sophisticated electronic, pneumatic, and sonar controls. At the time it was one of the most sophisticated laboratories in the world for physical hydrology and attracted worldwide attention and interest among scientists, engineers, and the public. It was the subject of an article that appeared in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine on June 6, 1969, and was also addressed in the 1969 March issue of ''Public Works'' magazine. With this unique instrumentation, he introduced a new field of technology known as watershed hydraulics. He also developed a formula for hydrologic frequency drainage design, a method of backwater curve computation. Chow was the founder and first president of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA). Under Ven Te Chow's leadership, the IWRA began publishing the academic journal Water International in 1975. Over the last 49 years, IWRA has actively promoted the sustainable management of water resources around the globe and become one of the most influential organizations in the field of water. The ''IWRA Ven Te Chow Memorial Award'' was created by the IWRA in his memory. The award includes a lecture, to be delivered at its triennial World Water Congresses. The American Society of Civil Engineers established the Ven Te Chow Award in his memory to recognize the lifetime achievements in the field of hydrologic engineering. The award is administered by th
Surface Water Hydrology Technical Committee
of the
Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI)
The award ceremony and lecture are held at annua
World Environmental & Water Resources Congress

Works

References

External links

International Water Resources Association websiteVen Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory @ UIUC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chow, Ven Te 1919 births 1981 deaths Hydraulic engineers Hydrologists University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Chinese emigrants to the United States Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Grainger College of Engineering alumni 20th-century American engineers Penn State College of Engineering alumni People from Hangzhou Engineers from Zhejiang 20th-century Chinese engineers Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni