Ven Te Chow


Ven Te Chow, was a Chinese-American engineer. He was a widely recognized hydrologist and hydraulic engineer, acclaimed for his contributions to hydrology and water resources development.

Career

He was a 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 Tung 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.
Chow joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in the Department of Civil Engineering in 1948 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1962. Some of his unusual contributions include his watershed experimentation system, which produced storms in the laboratory using sophisticated electronic, pneumatic, and sonar controls. At the time it was one of the most sophisticated laboratories in the world for physical hydrology and 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.

IWRA

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.
Chow was the founder and first president of the International Water Resources Association. Under Ven Te Chow's leadership, the IWRA began publishing the academic journal Water International in 1975. Over the last 49 years, IWRA has actively promoted the sustainable management of water resources around the globe and become one of the most influential organizations in the field of water.
The IWRA Ven Te Chow Memorial Award was created by the IWRA in his memory. The award includes a lecture, to be delivered at its triennial World Water Congresses.
YearRecipient
1988Vujica M. Yevjevich
1991Malin Falkenmark
1994Andras Szollosi-Nagy
1996Ben Chie Yen
1997Glenn E. Stout
2000Janusz Kindler
2003Asit K. Biswas
2005Benedito Braga
2008John Pigram
2011Peter H. Gleick
2015Rabi Mohtar
2017V. P. Singh and William N. Lehrer
2020Soontak Lee

The American Society of Civil Engineers established the Ven Te Chow Award in his memory to recognize the lifetime achievements in the field of hydrologic engineering. The award is administered by the of the . The award ceremony and lecture are held at annual .
YearRecipient
2022Gary Brunner
2021George Kuczera
2020Richard M. Vogel
2019Rao S. Govindaraju
2018Keith W. Hipel
2017Soroosh Sorooshian
2016Larry W. Mays
2015Richard H. McCuen
2014Jery R. Stedinger
2013Slobadan P. Simonovic
2012Ramachandra Rao
2011David Maidment
2010Jose D. Salas
2009M. Levent Kavvas
2008Stephen J. Burges
2007Leo R. Beard
2006David R. Dawdy
2005Vijay P. Singh
2004Norman H. Crawford
2003Jacques W. Delleur
2002Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe
2001Robert A. Clark
2000James E. Nash
1999Vit Klemes
1998James C. I. Dooge
1997Vujica Yevjevich

Works