2005 OUSMI
Distinguished Colloquium Speaker


Jim Douglas, Jr.


Professor Douglas is known world-wide for his pioneering and life-long contributions in the areas of developing theory, applications, and solution techniques for partial differential equation models in science and engineering and in particular in the area of flow in porous media. Professor Douglas, a native Texan, received his undergraduate training at the University of Texas and then received the Ph.D. degree in mathematics from Rice University in 1952. As the computer came into our world in the early 1950's, several individuals had great insight and foresight and began to couple mathematics with this emerging powerful tool. Science scholars and historians today recognize the seminal work that Professor Douglas and his colleagues produced at Humble Oil and Refining Company in Houston during the five-year period from 1952-1957 as very important pioneering work in fostering scientific numerical methods and simulation for partial differential equation models. In 1957 Professor Douglas became a member of the Rice faculty. He was a Rice faculty member for ten years, until 1967, when he left for a faculty position at the University of Chicago. In 1987 he moved to Purdue University. He has received many honors and awards, including the Compere and Marcella Loveless Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Computational Mathematics and the 2004 Rice University Distinguish Alumnus Award. Professor Douglas has mentored students and influenced researchers across the world for the past 50 years. He has supervised 41 doctoral students and he has 174 academic descendants. His contributions are truly legendary.