Steven Orszag, the eminent applied and computational mathematician and the Percey F. Smith Professor of Mathematics at Yale, died May 1, 2011, of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 68.
In 1962, at age 19, Orszag graduated from MIT. After a year in England at Cambridge, he entered Princeton and in 1966 received a Ph.D. in astrophysics. Following a year at the Institute for Advanced Study, he was a professor of applied mathematics at MIT from 1967 to 1984.
From 1984 to 1998, Orszag was a professor of applied and computational mathematics at Princeton (and the Forrest E. Hamrick Professor of Engineering from 1989 to 1998). Then he left for Yale and became the Smith Professor.
Orszag was a major influence in the field of fluid mechanics. His research had great practical implications in areas such as airplane design, electronic-chip manufacturing, and computer-storage design that led him to found and advise several companies (one of which was sold to Hewlett-Packard). He held six patents, wrote more than 400 papers, and authored several books. His work garnered him major awards.
He is survived by his wife, Reba, whom he married in 1964; three sons, Michael ’89, Peter ’91, and Jonathan ’95; and two grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.