Ven Te Chow

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Ven Te Chow, Hangchow, August 14, 1919 - July 30, 1981, engineer and educator. A widely recognized hydrologist and engineer throughout the world for his contributions to the science of hydrology and water resources development.

He was professor of Civil and Hydrosystems Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his B.S. degree in civil engineering from the National Chiao Bung University in 1940, his M.S. degree in engineering mechanics from Pennsylvania State University in 1948, and his Ph.D. degree in hydraulic engineering from the University of Illinois in 1950.

He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1962 and had been on the faculty of the University of Illinois in the Department of Civil Engineering since 1948. Some of his unusual contributions include his watershed experimentation system, which produced storms in the laboratory using sophisticated electronic, pneumatic, and sonar controls. It is the only instrument of such advanced sophistication in the world and has attracted worldwide attention and interest among scientists, engineers, and the public. It was the subject of an article that appeared in Life magazine on June 6, 1969, and was also addressed in the 1969 March issue of Public Works magazine.

With this unique instrumentation, he introduced a new field of technology known as watershed hydraulics. He also developed a formula for hydrologic frequency drainage design, a method of backwater curve computation.

Source: National Academic Press.