James A. Yorke

Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics and Physics 
Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology (IPST) 
University of Maryland, 
College Park, MD 20742

A.B., Columbia University Ph.D., Mathematics, University of Maryland at College Park

After Professor Yorke earned his bachelors degree from Columbia University in 1963, he came to the University of Maryland for graduate studies, in part because of interdisciplinary opportunities offered by the faculty of IPST. IPST is an Institute established in 1950 and committed to interdisciplinary research in the sciences. After receiving his doctoral degree in 1966 in Mathematics, Yorke stayed at the University as a member of IPST. Today he holds the title of Distinguished University Professor and also is a member of the Mathematics and Physics Departments.

Professor Yorke's current research projects range from chaos theory and weather prediction and genome research to the population dynamics of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  

He is perhaps best known to the general public for coining the mathematical term "chaos" with T.Y. Li in a 1975 paper entitled "Period Three Implies Chaos". "Chaos" is a mathematical concept in non-linear dynamics for systems that vary according to precise deterministic laws but appear to behave in random fashion. The University's chaos research group, one of the best in the world. The objective of his chaos research is to describe those robust properties that are common in the dynamics of physical, biological, and chemical systems. Sometimes the phenomena can be described using rigorous mathematics, and sometimes only phenomenological descriptions can be obtained from intensive numerical studies. Most often, the research is a blend of numerical and rigorous techniques.

Professor Yorke has coauthored three books on chaos and a monograph on gonorrhea epidemiology:

• Dynamics: Numerical Explorations (written with Helena Nusse) deals with the computational aspects of chaos
• Coping with Chaos (written with Edward Ott and Tim Sauer) is a collection of reprints focusing on how scientists observe, quantify, and control chaos.
• Chaos: An Introduction to Dynamical Systems (written with Kathleen Alligood and Tim Sauer) -- an interdisciplinary math text for seniors and beginning graduate students.

Prof. Yorke has supervised approximately 30 Ph.D. dissertations in the Depts. of Mathematics and Physics. Dr. Yorke's Curriculum Vitae includes a list of over 300 publications, many with abstracts, and is available online, as is a short list of those most frequently cited.

Contact Information:

Professor James Yorke
Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology
UMCP, College Park, MD 20742
Email: Yorke2 at IPST.UMD.EDU