Engineering professor to examine evolution of animal and human flight

Antony Jameson, the Thomas V. Jones Professor of Engineering at Stanford University, will deliver this year’s Sir James Lighthill Distinguished Lecture in Mathematical Sciences at The Florida State University. Jameson’s lecture, titled “Mathematics, Computers and Flight from Pterosaurs to Jumbo Jets,” will discuss the role of mathematics and, more recently, computing in our understanding of flight and how all aspects of aviation are now dominated by computing. Particular reference will be made to the contributions of the field of computational fluid dynamics and its current and future impacts on the study of flight.

The Lighthill Lecture, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to take place:

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17

4 P.M.

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI CENTER, GRAND BALLROOM

1030 W. TENNESSEE ST.

A reception with refreshments will precede the lecture beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Free parking is available at the Alumni Center.

Jameson has been the Thomas V. Jones Professor at Stanford since 1997. Prior to his tenure there, he was a professor of Mechanical at Aerospace Engineering from 1980 to 1982, then held the title of James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Princeton from 1982 to 1997. He also served as a senior research associate, associate professor and full professor at New York University from 1974 to 1980, and has held positions outside of academia Grumman Aerospace Company and Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, Missile Division.

The Sir James Lighthill Distinguished Lectureship in Mathematical Sciences was established to honor leaders in mathematical sciences and to attract them to visit Florida State University to give lectures, inspire students and interact with the faculty and students. Sir James Lighthill, who held an honorary doctorate from Florida State, was a great mathematical scientist of the 20th century whose contributions in the diverse field of fluid dynamics were insightful, fundamental and enduring.

For more information on the Lighthill Lecture Series and past lecturers, visit www.cespr.fsu.edu/lighthill/lectureship.html.