Hassan Aref
Encyclopedia
Dr. Hassan Aref was the Reynolds Metals Professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech, and the Niels Bohr Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Denmark
. Prior to joining Virginia Tech as Dean of Engineering in 2003-2005 Aref was Head of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
for a decade from 1992-2003. Before that he was on the faculty of University of California, San Diego
, split between the Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Science and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics 1985-1992. Simultaneously, he was Chief Scientist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center
for three years 1989-1992. Aref started his faculty career in the Division of Engineering at Brown University
1980-85. He was educated at the University of Copenhagen
Niels Bohr Institute, graduating in 1975 with a cand. scient degree in Physics
and Mathematics
. Subsequently he received the PhD degree in Physics from Cornell University
in 1980.
Aref is particularly well known for having developed the concept of chaotic advection in fluid mechanics
. The notion that regular, laminar flows can produce chaotic particle trajectories is now understood as a cornerstone of fluid flow kinematics and the term chaotic advection is used as a classifying keyword by leading journals of the field and for major conferences. Applications of chaotic advection range from mixing by atmospheric and oceanographic flows to mixing in microfluidic devices. Aref received the 2000 Otto Laporte Award
from the American Physical Society
for this work and for his work on vortex dynamics for which he is also well known.
Aref was the author of some 80 articles in leading journals in the field of fluid mechanics. He has also authored chapters in several books, edited two collections of papers, and given presentations at conferences and universities around the world.
Throughout his career Aref was involved in editorial work. He was Associate Editor of Journal of Fluid Mechanics
1984-94, founding editor with David G. Crighton of Cambridge Texts in Applied Mathematics, and served on the editorial board of Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics and as co-editor of Advances in Applied Mechanics. He served on the editorial boards of Physics of Fluids
, Physical Review E, and Regular and Chaotic Dynamics.
Aref served as chair of the Division of Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society. He chaired the US National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and has served on advisory boards for several professional societies. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Congress Committee of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
(IUTAM), a member of the National Academies Board on International Scientific Organizations, and a member of the Board of the Society of Engineering Science. He served as Secretary for the Midwest Mechanics Seminar, 1994-2003.
Aref was president of the 20th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics held in Chicago in 2000. In the 70+ years of these significant congresses they have been held three times in USA: In 1938 in Boston, MA, with MIT and Harvard University
as the host institutions, in 1968 with Stanford University as the host, and in 2000 with a consortium led by University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign as the hosts.
Hassan Aref was born in Alexandria
, Egypt
. Previously a citizen of Canada
, he acquired U.S. citizenship in 1998. He died from an aortic dissection.
Technical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark , often simply referred to as DTU, is a university just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions, and the...
. Prior to joining Virginia Tech as Dean of Engineering in 2003-2005 Aref was Head of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
for a decade from 1992-2003. Before that he was on the faculty of University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, split between the Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Science and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics 1985-1992. Simultaneously, he was Chief Scientist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center
San Diego Supercomputer Center
The San Diego Supercomputer Center is an organized research unit of the University of California, San Diego . Physically, SDSC is located on the east end of Eleanor Roosevelt College on the campus of UCSD....
for three years 1989-1992. Aref started his faculty career in the Division of Engineering at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
1980-85. He was educated at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
Niels Bohr Institute, graduating in 1975 with a cand. scient degree in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. Subsequently he received the PhD degree in Physics from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1980.
Aref is particularly well known for having developed the concept of chaotic advection in fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
. The notion that regular, laminar flows can produce chaotic particle trajectories is now understood as a cornerstone of fluid flow kinematics and the term chaotic advection is used as a classifying keyword by leading journals of the field and for major conferences. Applications of chaotic advection range from mixing by atmospheric and oceanographic flows to mixing in microfluidic devices. Aref received the 2000 Otto Laporte Award
Otto Laporte Award
The Otto Laporte Award was an annual award by the American Physical Society to "recognize outstanding contributions to fluid dynamics" and to honour Otto Laporte . It was established as the Otto Laporte Memorial Lectureship by the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics in 1972, and became an APS award in...
from the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
for this work and for his work on vortex dynamics for which he is also well known.
Aref was the author of some 80 articles in leading journals in the field of fluid mechanics. He has also authored chapters in several books, edited two collections of papers, and given presentations at conferences and universities around the world.
Throughout his career Aref was involved in editorial work. He was Associate Editor of Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Journal of Fluid Mechanics
The Journal of Fluid Mechanics is the leading scientific journal in the field of fluid mechanics. It publishes original work on theoretical, computational and experimental aspects of the subject. The journal is usually referred to by its initials JFM by academics in the field. Within citations,...
1984-94, founding editor with David G. Crighton of Cambridge Texts in Applied Mathematics, and served on the editorial board of Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics and as co-editor of Advances in Applied Mechanics. He served on the editorial boards of Physics of Fluids
Physics of Fluids
Physics of Fluids is a peer-reviewed monthly scientific journal on fluid dynamics, published by the American Institute of Physics with cooperation by the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics, since 1958...
, Physical Review E, and Regular and Chaotic Dynamics.
Aref served as chair of the Division of Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society. He chaired the US National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and has served on advisory boards for several professional societies. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Congress Committee of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
The International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics is believed to have been founded when Aachen professor Theodore von Kármán held a conference in Innsbruck in September of 1922. The purpose of the 1922 conference was to discuss questions of hydrodynamics and aerodynamics. The...
(IUTAM), a member of the National Academies Board on International Scientific Organizations, and a member of the Board of the Society of Engineering Science. He served as Secretary for the Midwest Mechanics Seminar, 1994-2003.
Aref was president of the 20th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics held in Chicago in 2000. In the 70+ years of these significant congresses they have been held three times in USA: In 1938 in Boston, MA, with MIT and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
as the host institutions, in 1968 with Stanford University as the host, and in 2000 with a consortium led by University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign as the hosts.
Hassan Aref was born in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Previously a citizen of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, he acquired U.S. citizenship in 1998. He died from an aortic dissection.
Honors and awards
- 2011 Geoffrey Ingram TaylorGeoffrey Ingram TaylorSir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor OM was a British physicist, mathematician and expert on fluid dynamics and wave theory. His biographer and one-time student, George Batchelor, described him as "one of the most notable scientists of this century".-Biography:Taylor was born in St. John's Wood, London...
Medal - 2006 Niels Bohr Visiting Professor, Technical University of DenmarkTechnical University of DenmarkThe Technical University of Denmark , often simply referred to as DTU, is a university just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions, and the...
- 2003 Reynolds Metals Professor, Virginia Tech
- 2001 Fellow, World Innovation Foundation
- 2000 Otto LaporteOtto LaporteOtto Laporte was a German-born American physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics, electromagnetic wave propagation theory, spectroscopy, and fluid dynamics...
Award, American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
"For his pioneering contributions to the study of chaotic motion in fluids, scientific computation, and vortex dynamics, and most notably for the development of the concept of chaotic advection." - 2000 Fellow, American Academy of Mechanics
- 1994 Toshiba Keio Lecture, Keio University, Japan
- 1991 Westinghouse Distinguished Lectureship, University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
- 1991 Lecturer, Midwest Mechanics Seminar
- 1988 Fellow, American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
"For the elucidation of chaotic motion in few-vortex problems and particle advection, and for the development of numerical methods based on many-vortex interactions." - 1988 Stanley CorrsinStanley CorrsinStanley Corrsin was an American physicist, fluid dynamicist, and Theophilus Halley Smoot Professor of Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. He was known for his contributions in the field of fluid dynamics in general and turbulence in particular. He was a recipient of Fluid Dynamics Prize...
Lectureship, The Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States... - 1986 Foreign Member, Danish Centre for Applied Mathematics and Mechanics
- 1985 Presidential Young Investigator Award, National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
- 1975 NATO Fellowship; Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Graduate Fellowship, 1975–1980
External links
- Personal web page at Virginia Tech:
- Personal web page at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign:
- Vortex Dynamics Blog by Hassan Aref
- Hassan Aref's blog Blog by Hassan Aref