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Ivo M. Babuška (22 March 1926 – 12 April 2023) was a Czech-American mathematician, noted for his studies of the
finite element method Finite element method (FEM) is a popular method for numerically solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modeling. Typical problem areas of interest include the traditional fields of structural analysis, heat tran ...
and the proof of the
Babuška–Lax–Milgram theorem In mathematics, the Generalized–Lax–Milgram theorem is a generalization of the famous Lax–Milgram theorem, which gives conditions under which a bilinear form can be "inverted" to show the existence and uniqueness of a weak solution to a give ...
in
partial differential equations In mathematics, a partial differential equation (PDE) is an equation which involves a multivariable function and one or more of its partial derivatives. The function is often thought of as an "unknown" that solves the equation, similar to how ...
. One of the celebrated result in the finite elements is the so-called Ladyzenskaja–Babuška–Brezzi (LBB) condition (also referred to in some literature as Banach–Nečas–Babuška (BNB)), which provides sufficient conditions for a stable mixed formulation. The LBB condition has guided mathematicians and engineers to develop state-of-the-art formulations for many technologically important problems like Darcy flow,
Stokes flow Stokes flow (named after George Gabriel Stokes), also named creeping flow or creeping motion,Kim, S. & Karrila, S. J. (2005) ''Microhydrodynamics: Principles and Selected Applications'', Dover. . is a type of fluid flow where advection, advec ...
, incompressible Navier–Stokes, and nearly incompressible elasticity. Babuška is also well known for his work on adaptive methods and the '' p-''- and '' hp-''-versions of the finite element method. He also developed the mathematical framework for the partition of unity methods. Babuška was elected as a member of the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
in 2005 for contributions to the theory and implementation of finite element methods for computer-based engineering analysis and design.


Biography

Ivo Babuška was born on 22 March 1926, in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, the son of architect Milan Babuška (who designed the National Technical Museum in Prague) and his wife Marie. He studied
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
at the
Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...
, where he received the Dipl. Ing in 1949. In 1951 he received the degree Dr. Tech.; his doctoral dissertation was supervised by
Eduard Čech Eduard Čech (; 29 June 1893 – 15 March 1960) was a Czech mathematician. His research interests included projective differential geometry and topology. He is especially known for the technique known as Stone–Čech compactification (in topo ...
and Vladimir Knichal. From 1949 he studied at Mathematical Institute of the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
and then was the head of the Department of Partial Differential Equations. In 1955, he received a CSc. (= Ph.D.) in mathematics and in 1960 DSc. in mathematics. He was married to Renata and they had two children, a girl, Lenka and a boy, Vit. Babuška fled
Communist Czechoslovakia The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czech ...
in 1968 with barely more than he could carry, following a conference in Western Europe, and emigrated to the United States. After many years as a professor at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
, he eventually moved to the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
where he spent many years at the
Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences is an interdisciplinary research unit and graduate program at The University of Texas at Austin dedicated to advancing computational science and engineering through a variety of prog ...
. He moved to New Mexico in 2020, following retirement in 2018 at the age of 92. Babuška died on 12 April 2023, at the age of 97.


Work

Babuška worked in the field of mathematics, applied mathematics, numerical methods, finite element methods, and computational mechanics. In 1968, he became a professor at
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
in the mathematics department, which is part of the
University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) at the University of Maryland, College Park, is home to ten academic departments and a dozen interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. CMNS is one of 13 schools and colle ...
. He retired in 1996 as a Distinguished University Professor. In 1989 he co-founded the company ESRD, Inc. which developed the StressCheck finite element software, putting into practice much of Babuška's research and contributions to the finite element method. After his time at the University of Maryland, he moved to the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
where he held the Robert B. Trull Chair in Engineering. Babuška has published more than 300 papers in refereed journals, more than 70 papers in conference proceedings, and several books. He was an invited speaker at many major international conferences and a member of numerous editorial boards for scientific journals. In 2018 he retired as Professor Emeritus. Among his more than 30 doctoral students are Christoph Schwab and Michael Vogelius.


Honors

Babuška received many honors for his work, including five doctorates ''
honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
'', member of European Academy of Sciences (2003), Fellow of SIAM and ICAM, the Czechoslovak State prize for Mathematics, the Leroy P. Steele Prize (2012), the Birkhoff Prize (1994), the Humboldt Award of
Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...
, the Neuron Prize Czech Republic, Honorary Foreign Member of the Czech Learned Society and the Bolzano Medal. In 2003, asteroid 36060 Babuška was named in his honor by the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
. In 2005, Babuska was awarded the Honorary Medal "De Scientia Et Humanitate Optime Meritis", received the ICAM Congress Medal (Newton Gauss, 2016) and he was elected to the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
. He was also a member of the Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Sciences of Texas.


See also

* Discontinuous Galerkin method * Kahan–Babuška summation


References


External links

*
ISI Highly Cited Author – Ivo Babuška
* Arnold, Douglas N (2023)
"Remembering Ivo Babuška"
''SIAM News''. 56 (6). * Chleboun, Jan, Křízek, Michal, Segeth, Karel, and Vejchodský, Tomáš (2023). "Professor Ivo Babuška, founder of Applications of Mathematics," passed away. ''Applications of Mathematics.'' 68 (4): 377386. doibr>10.21136/AM.2023.0108-23
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babuska, Ivo 1926 births 2023 deaths Numerical analysts 20th-century Czech mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Czech educators Engineers from Prague Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering University of Maryland, College Park faculty University of Texas at Austin faculty Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Mathematicians from Prague Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Czechoslovak mathematicians Czechoslovak exiles