This prize was established in 1968 to commemorate Theodore von Kármán and his work in aerodynamics. It is awarded every five years for a notable application of mathematics to mechanics or engineering in the five to ten years preceding the award.
The Theodore von Kármán Prize is awarded for a notable application of mathematics to mechanics and/or the engineering sciences made during the five to ten years preceding the award. The award may be given for a significant achievement by one individual or a significant body of work that could have been produced by multiple contributors.
There are no restrictions on eligibility beyond those specified in the prize description. Preference will be given to a SIAM member.
The prize will next be awarded at the 2024 SIAM Annual Meeting (AN24) in Spokane, Washington, United States.
~*Learn More*~
Read the full prize specifications.
Read More
See all prizes with open calls for nominations.
View All
The Theodore von Kármán Prize includes a $2,000 monetary award and a certificate. A lecture is requested and is to be publicized in meeting announcements. SIAM will reimburse the recipient for reasonable travel expenses incurred in attending the award ceremony and giving the lecture.
The Theodore von Kármán Prize will next be awarded in July 2024 at the SIAM Annual Meeting.
The prize will be presented by the SIAM President at the Prizes and Awards Luncheon. The announcement of the award will appear in SIAM News, the SIAM website, and appropriate electronic media.
The initial funds for this prize were contributed by friends, colleagues, and students of Theodore von Kármán.
The 2024 Theodore von Kármán Prize is awarded to Karen E. Willcox for a notable application of mathematics to mechanicsand/or the engineering sciences made during the five to ten years preceding theaward. The award may be given for a significant achievement by one individualor a significant body of work that could have been produced by multiplecontributors.
Fadil Santosa (Chair) Penny DaviesTimothy Davis
The 2020 Theodore von Kármán Prize is awarded to Kaushik Bhattacharya for his major mathematical and computational contributions to materials science.
L. Pamela Cook (Chair) Phillip Colella Fabio Nobile
The 2014 Theodore von Kármán Prize is awarded to Richard D. James, whose contributions to materials science and mathematics have shaped a vibrant community. Starting from his own experiments, he has forged a path from rational mechanics, via the calculus of variations, deep into elliptic regularity theory and back. In particular, the prize honors his seminal work with John Ball on shape memory alloys, his more recent work with Gero Friesecke and Stefan Müller on a nonlinear Korn inequality that played an essential role in the successful rigorous derivation of nonlinear plate theories, and his very recent discovery and analysis of low-hysteresis shape memory alloys.
Felix Otto (Chair) David Kinderlehrer Mary F. Wheeler
The 2014 Theodore von Kármán Prize is awarded to Weinan E for his deep mathematical contributions to fundamental questions in physics ranging from the structure of matter to turbulence, to a rejuvenation of numerical analysis in the light of multiple scales, and for his eclectic and ingenious solutions in scientific computing.
Charles Doering (Chair) Clint Dawson Charbel Farhat
J. Tinsley Oden (Chair) Thomas R. J. Hughes Richard James
Jerrold E. Marsden (Chair) Philippe Ciarlet Joseph B. Keller
Julian D. Cole (Chair) Stuart S. Antman
Marshall P. Tulin (Chair) Hirsh Cohen Julian D. Cole
Joseph B. Keller (Chair) George F. Carrier Marshall B. Tulin
Richard C. DiPrima (Chair) Julian D. Cole Herbert B. Keller
George F. Carrier (Chair) Lester Lees C.C. Li
Support the SIAM Prize & Awards Program.