Theodore von Kármán and the arrival of applied mathematics in the United States, 1930-1940

Abstract

Applied mathematics as a discipline scarcely existed in the U. S. fifty years ago. Although its rise in America is traditionally associated with World War II, Theodore von Karman had waged a long and vigorous campaign well before Pearl Harbor to make applied mathematics respectable to engineers and mathematicians. In the course of advocating the use of mathematics and physics to solve applied problems, he challenged the prevailing philosophy of engineering programs, locked horns with recalcitrant journal editors, and generally encountered the obstacles to building a discipline that cuts across conventional boundaries.