Demetrios Christodoulou - Biography#

Christodoulou received his PhD in Physics, 1971, from Princeton University under the direction of John Archibald Wheeler at the age of 20. After temporary positions at Caltech, CERN, ICTP, and Max Planck, he became Professor of Mathematics, first at Syracuse University (1985-1987), then at the Courant Institute NYU (1988-1992), and at Princeton University (1992-2001), before taking his last position as Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the ETH Zürich. Since 2017 he is Emeritus Professor. He is internationally well-known for his contributions to the theory of hyperbolic partial differential equations, general relativity, and fluid dynamics. Highlights are his work on the nonlinear stability of the Minkowski spacetime (jointly with S. Klainerman), his work on the formation of black holes, and his work on the formation and development of shocks. For his numerous scientific contributions he received many awards.