Skip to the content.

Founding Director: Richard Ewing

Dr. Ewing was a distinguished professor of mathematics and applied mathematics, and the founding director of the Institute for Scientific Computation.

Dr. Ewing earned Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. He served on the editorial boards for a number of major national and international scientific journals. Ewing held the Mobil Technology Company Chair in Computational Science, TEES Distinguished Research Chair, and served as Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at Texas A&M. He received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Bergen, Norway and an honorary guest professorship from Shandong University, China. He received the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award from Germany and was elected as a foreign member of the Academia Europaea.

A world-renowned scientist in mathematics, engineering, and computational sciences, Dr. Ewing received widespread recognition for his research on numerical methods for partial differential equations (PDE), preconditioning techniques, adaptive computational methods, and upscaling for fluid flows in porous media. His work focused on the mathematical modeling of multiphase flows and transport in petroleum reservoirs and subsurface aquifers. Over the years, he made profound discoveries and key contributions to his research field and authored or coauthored over 330 publications.

Ewing served as co-principal investigator for the multi-million dollar Grand Challenge Project funded by the Department of Energy, which involved five universities and three national laboratories. He also functioned as co-principal investigator on the Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services (DREAMS™) project, with $10 million in annual funding, and the National Science Foundation Information Technology in Science (ITS) Center for Teaching and Learning, a five-year $10 million project.

For many years, in addition to his research activities, Dr. Ewing contributed to advancing education and the scientific community as the Vice President for Research at Texas A&M. In this capacity, he provided leadership and coordinated the developing, implementing, operating, and assessing programs to support creative scholarship, graduate studies, and sponsored research throughout Texas A&M.

With vision and commitment to international education and research, Dr. Ewing led Texas A&M University and the ISC in forging long-term strategic research alliances with many foreign partners including Mexico, China, and Qatar.

In , Dr. Ewing performed an integral role in the first China-U.S. Relations conference hosted at Texas A&M University. This highly successful conference led to several research agreements between Chinese and Texas A&M researchers and became a biannual event, with the edition held in Washington, DC.

In , Texas A&M also opened a branch campus in Doha, Qatar, and Ewing led creating the first two research centers. The centers, which focus on producing and utilizing natural resources and environmental sustainability, are in Doha with partner labs in College Station.

Ewing's research leadership reached beyond the university. Ewing served on the Houston Technology Center's, Associated Western Universities', Southwestern Universities Research Association's, and Texas Society for Biomedical Research's board of directors. Prior to his loss, the state also named Dr. Ewing to its Product Development and Small Business Incubator Board.

Dr. Ewing passed away on of an apparent heart attack at the age of 61. Many deeply love and miss him.

Research Interests

  • Numerical analysis of approximation methods for PDEs
  • Optimal-order preconditioning techniques for coupled systems of equations arising in the numerical solution of nonlinear, time-dependant PDEs
  • Adaptive grid refinement and adaptive time-stepping methods
  • Accurate methods of capturing sharp interfaces for transport in heterogeneous porous media
  • Multiscale and upscaling techniques for fluid flows in heterogeneous porous media
  • Numerical modeling and upsacling of subsurface biofilm processes
  • Petroleum reservoir modeling and ground water contaminant remediation simulation