Sydney Goldstein facts for kids

Sydney Goldstein (born December 3, 1903, in Kingston upon Hull, UK – died January 22, 1989, in Cambridge, MA, USA) was a very important British mathematician. He is famous for his work in fluid dynamics, which is the study of how liquids and gases move. People say he was one of the most influential people in fluid dynamics during the 20th century.

Goldstein was especially known for his studies on how fluids flow smoothly, like water in a calm river. He also researched how a spinning disk creates resistance in a fluid. His knowledge of aerodynamics, which is the study of how air moves around objects, greatly helped the design of aircraft.

Early Life and Education

Sydney Goldstein was born in Hull, England. His family was part of the Jewish community there and owned a furniture store. After his mother passed away, he went to live with an aunt. He attended Bede Collegiate School in Sunderland.

In 1921, he started studying mathematics at the University of Leeds. Later, he moved to St John's College at the University of Cambridge. He finished his studies in 1925. In 1927, he won the Smith's Prize for his excellent work in mathematics. He then received a special scholarship to continue his research in applied mathematics. His PhD thesis in 1928 was about something called Mathieu Functions.

Career Highlights

After his studies, Goldstein became a research fellow and spent a year working at the University of Göttingen in Germany. In 1929, he returned to St John's College as a fellow. Later that same year, he became a lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Manchester. At Manchester, he was greatly influenced by the work of famous fluid dynamics experts like Osborne Reynolds and Horace Lamb.

In 1931, he moved back to Cambridge. He took over editing an important book called Modern Developments in Fluid Dynamics after Horace Lamb died.

During World War II, Goldstein worked on important research about how air flows over surfaces. This work took place at the National Physical Laboratory. After the war, he became a professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Manchester.

Goldstein was a strong supporter of the State of Israel. In 1950, he became the head of the mathematics department at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He helped a lot in setting up the Technion. However, he found the administrative work too much. So, in 1954, he moved again. He accepted a professorship at Harvard University in the United States. He retired in 1968 but continued to be a respected professor there.

Awards and Recognition

Sydney Goldstein received many awards for his important work:

• Mayhew Prize, 1925
• Smith's Prize, 1927
• Adams Prize, 1935
• Fellow of the Royal Society, 1937
• Worked at the Aerodynamics Division, National Physical Laboratory, 1939–45
• Chairman, Aeronautical Research Council, 1946–49
• Foreign Member, Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and Letters (Section for Sciences), 1950
• Plenary Speaker, International Congress of Mathematicians, 1954
• Timoshenko Medal, 1965
• Foreign Member, Finnish Scientific Society (Section for maths and physics), 1975

Key Publications

• Modern Developments in Fluid Dynamics, 1938. (He was the editor of this book.)
• Lectures on Fluid Mechanics, 1960.

See also

• Taylor–Goldstein equation