Division of Applied Mathematics

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island 02912

e-mail: dafermos@dam.brown.edu

I work on the interface between continuum mechanics and the theory of partial differential equations. In recent years, my research has focused on nonlinear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws, whose solutions spontaneously develop singularities that propagate as shock waves. I am interested in the interplay between thermodynamics and analysis, in the theory of these sytems, and have been striving to elucidate the fundamental role of entropy, as a stabilizing agent.

Degrees

• Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1967.
• Diploma, Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 1964.

Professional Appointments

• 1987 - present: Alumni-Alumnae University Professor, Brown University.
• 1976 - present: Professor, Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University.
• 1988 - 1993: Director, Lefschetz Center for Dynamical Systems.
• 1971 - 1976: Associate Professor, Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University.
• 1968 - 1971: Assistant Professor, Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University.
• 1967 - 1968: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Mechanics, Johns Hopkins University.