George Keith Batchelor | |
|---|---|
 George Keith Batchelor | |
| Born | (1920-03-08)8 March 1920 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 30 March 2000(2000-03-30) (aged 80) Cambridge, England |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Known for | Batchelor vortex Prandtl–Batchelor theorem Batchelor–Chandrasekhar equation Batchelor scale |
| Awards | Adams Prize (1950) Royal Medal (1988) Timoshenko Medal (1988) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Applied mathematics Fluid dynamics |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
| Doctoral advisor | Geoffrey Ingram Taylor |
| Doctoral students | Philip Saffman Keith Moffatt Adrian Gill John Hinch |
George Keith BatchelorFRS[1] (8 March 1920 – 30 March 2000) was an Australianapplied mathematician andfluid dynamicist.
He was for many years a professor of applied mathematics in theUniversity of Cambridge, and was founding head of theDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). In 1956 he founded the influentialJournal of Fluid Mechanics[2] which he edited for some forty years. Prior to Cambridge he studied atMelbourne High School andUniversity of Melbourne.[3]
As an applied mathematician (and for some years at Cambridge a co-worker withSir Geoffrey Taylor in the field ofturbulent flow), he was a keen advocate of the need for physical understanding and sound experimental basis.
HisAn Introduction to Fluid Dynamics (CUP, 1967) is still considered a classic of the subject, and has been re-issued in theCambridge Mathematical Library series, following strong current demand.[4] Unusual for an 'elementary' textbook of that era, it presented a treatment in which the properties of a realviscous fluid were fully emphasised.[5] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959.[6]
TheBatchelor Prize award, is named in his honour and is awarded every four years at the meeting of the International Congress on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.[7]
