Provost Lawrence G. Abele established the Sir James Lighthill Distinguished Lectureship Award to honor leaders in mathematical sciences and to attract them to visit the Florida State University to give lectures, inspire students and interact with the faculty and students. The Sir James Lighthill Inaugural Lectures were delivered by Professor Peter Lax in 2004.

Sir James Lighthill, who held an honorary doctorate from FSU, was a great mathematical scientist of the twentieth century, his contributions in the diverse field of fluid dynamics were insightful, fundamental and enduring. He had an uncanny ability to find mathematical descriptions of physical processes that were deceptively simple and yet captured the essence of complex fluid dynamical phenomena in such fields as aeroacoustics, water waves and biofluiddynamics. For more than half a century the famous Lighthill acoustic analogy has formed the basis of procedures for computing the noise produced by aircraft engines. His formulation of the general principles of fluid waves has led to greater understanding and prediction capabilities for ocean currents and flood movement. His pioneering, interdisciplinary contributions to biofluiddynamics ranged from blood motion to animal flight.

Lecturers:

Professor David Keyes (2011) Dean, Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia Fu Foundation Professor of Applied Physics Columbia University Brief Biography
Professor Antony Jameson (2010) Thomas V. Jones Professor of Engineering Stanford University Resume
Professor Alexandre J. Chorin (2009) University Professor University of California at Berkeley Brief Biography
Professor Daniel D. Joseph (2008) Regents Professor Russel J. Penrose Professor Emeritus University of Minnesota Brief Biography
Dr. Katepalli R. Sreenivasan (2007) Abdus Salam Professor and Director International Centre for Theoretical Physics Trieste, Italy Brief Biography
Professor Steven A. Orszag (2006) Percey F. Smith Professor, Yale University Brief Biography
Professor Andrew J. Majda (2005) Morse Professor of Arts and Sciences Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences New York University Resume
Professor Peter Lax (2004) Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences New York University Resume

For additional information, please contact Susan Greenwalt (E-mail: sgreenwalt@fsu.edu, Phone: 850-644-0601)