With “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson playing in the background, we leave the City that Never Sleeps for the City of Monuments, the Beltway, Our Nation’s Capital: Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia was named after both explorer Christopher Columbus and America’s first president, George Washington, who chose the location of the new capital. The seat of American democracy and the home of many memorials, museums, and institutions, Washington, D.C. is a destination all on its own. 

However, we are not here just for the Lincoln Memorial or the Smithsonian; we are here to learn about Charles Fefferman, a mathematician specializing in analysis and partial differential equations, whose work has been formative in areas such as fluid dynamics and neural networks.  

As a child prodigy, Fefferman received degrees in mathematics and physics at age 17 from the University of Maryland. By age 22, he had his Ph.D. and became the youngest full professor ever in the United States. In 1978 he won the prestigious Fields Medal (the Nobel Prize of the math world).  

While his beginnings are fascinating, it is his work in mathematics that earns our admiration. Partial differential equations, one of his specialties, have useful applications in making computer models of complex systems, such as energy flow within building space. These models are used to improve energy efficiency by aiding in the design and tuning of controllers and simulating their performance.   

Another of Fefferman’s areas of specialty is fluid dynamics, which focuses on the energy and momentum in the movement of fluids. In building automation systems (BAS), factors such as elevation, temperature, pressure and velocity can directly affect pump choice, placement and pipe layout. Not only this, but Fefferman’s work in neural networks has been prolific in machine learning.  

From child prodigy to professor and influential STEM theorist, Charles Fefferman has earned our respect and gratitude for his contributions to the BAS industry.  

As we bid Fefferman’s hometown goodbye, we put on “Sunday Best” by Surfaces and pass around the Swedish Fish and popcorn. Settle in for a long haul, because our next stop on this road trip will be Austin, Texas—a whopping 22.5 hours away (and that’s with no potty breaks)!  

KMC Controls is an independent and family-owned manufacturer of turn-key solutions based in New Paris, Indiana. For the last fifty years, KMC Controls has remained dedicated to the American ideals of quality and innovation, focusing on intuitive solutions created by responsive and supportive people.  

Consider us your Building Geniuses® who are building geniuses, one blog post at a time! KMC is dedicated to inspiring interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Join us for the next several weeks as we learn more about Inspiring STEM Across America. 

References: 

https://academicinfluence.com/people  

https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/#innovators 

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/future-tech-awards-2021-future-50 

https://www.math.princeton.edu/people/charles-fefferman  

https://academicinfluence.com/people/charles-fefferman  

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261915013793 

https://www.therma.com/piping-design/#:~:text=Designers%20incorporate%20several%20key%20aspects

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