Profile of Thomas Y. Hou

Abstract

Working at the interface between numerics and applied analysis, Caltech mathematician Thomas Hou has solved challenging problems concerning fluid dynamics and other multiscale systems. His research has applications in materials science, biomedical engineering, multiphase fluid dynamics, among other fields. Hou is currently addressing a longstanding open question in mathematical fluid dynamics: whether smooth initial data for the 3D incompressible Euler equations can form a finite-time singularity. Dating back to polymath Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), these equations lie at the core of theoretical fluid mechanics. Hou’s work in this area, reported in his Inaugural Article, provides key insights.