George F. Carrier

George Francis Carrier ( born May 4, 1918 in Millinocket (Maine), † March 8, 2002 ) was an American mathematician and Emeritus Professor of Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He was known for his ability to intuitively model a physical system, to be able to derive a mathematical solution. He worked in particular on models of fluid dynamics, combustion processes and tsunamis.

Life

Carrier graduated in 1939 as Master of Engineering in 1944 and his doctorate from Cornell University with James N. Goodier ( Investigations in the field of aelotropic elasticity and the bending of the sectorial plate). As a post - graduate student, he spent two years at the Harvard University ( Harvard Engineering School ) and in 1946 he became assistant professor at Brown University, where he became Associate Professor in 1947 and Professor in 1948. There he sighted in the U.S. Air Force, the literature on supersonic flows. In 1952, he was Gordon McKay Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Harvard University. He was there in 1972 T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Applied Mathematics.

He was co-author of a series of mathematical textbooks and more than 100 publications.

In 1990 he was awarded for his contributions to science, the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific award of the United States. In 1979 he received the Theodore von Kármán Prize.

He died on 8 March 2002 of esophageal cancer.

He was co-editor of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, the Quarterly of Applied Mathematics and SIAM Journal of Applied Mathematics.

Carriers usually

Carrier is known for " Carriers rule " (English Carrier 's rule ), a jocular explanation of why divergent asymptotic consequences often supply after a few sequence elements good approximations, whereas one with convergent sequences often many members needed to get a good approximation " divergent sequences converge faster because they do not have to converge. "

Writings

• With Max Krook, Carl E. Pearson Functions of a complex variable. Theory and Technique, McGraw Hill 1966 SIAM 2005
• Carl E. Pearson Ordinary Differential Equations, Blaisdell 1968 SIAM 1991
• Carl E. Pearson Partial Differential Equations. Theory and Technique, Academic Press 1976, 1988
• Aerodynamics of high speed, Dover 1951