Chow, Ven Te

Photograph

Dates

Ven Te Chow, 1919 (China) - 1981 (Urbana, IL, USA)

Biography

Born in China in 1919, Chow received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the National Chiao Tung University of China, his M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from the Pennsylvania State University, and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, where he served on the faculty since 1948. He was a consultant and lecturer for numerous government and private organizations in the U.S.A. as well as Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, Peru, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia, and several United Nations organizations. In addition he had been Editor of the Journal of Hydrology from 1969-1981, an Associate Editor of Water Resources Research, Editor of Advances in Hydroscience, Advising Editor of Developments in Water Science, Consulting Editor of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, and Editor-in-Chief of Water International. He was a member of many learned societies and received many awards and honorary degrees. Chow was a leader in professional societies and served for many years as President and subsequently as Honorary President of the International Water Resources Association, and as President of the Section of Hydrology of the American Geophysical Union.

Hydrological Achievements

Perhaps best known for his editorship of the world renowned Handbook of Applied Hydrology which was revised in 1988 by a team led by David Maidment and Larry Mays

Chow was the author of several other well-known books, including the text on Open Channel Flow, and more than 200 other technical publications.

Reference Material

In Memoriam, Ven Te Chow, Journal of Hydrology, 55 (1982) 1

Ven Te Chow Wikipedia entry

Major Publications

Chow, V T (Ed.), 1964, Handbook of Applied Hydrology, McGraw-Hill: New York

Chow, V. T. (1959). Open channel flow. MacGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc.: New York.

Chow, V. T. (1951). A general formula for hydrologic frequency analysis. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 32(2), 231-237.

Chow, V. T. (1952). On the determination of transmissibility and storage coefficients from pumping test data. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 33(3), 397-404.

Chow, V. T. (1953). Frequency analysis of hydrologic data with special application to rainfall intensities. University of Illinois. Engineering Experiment Station. Bulletin; no. 414.

Chow, V. T. (1954). Log-probability law and its engineering applications. Proceedings (American Society of Civil Engineers); v. 80, separate no. 536.

Heidari, M., Chow, V. T., Kokotović, P. V., & Meredith, D. D. (1971). Discrete differential dynamic programing approach to water resources systems optimization. Water Resources Research, 7(2), 273-282.

Chow, V. T., & Ben-Zvi, A. (1973). Hydrodynamic modeling of two-dimensional watershed flow. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 99(11), 2023-2040.

Yen, B. C., & Chow, V. T. (1980). Design hyetographs for small drainage structures. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 106(ASCE 15452).