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Richard Courant proposed numerical methods for solving PDEs in 1928; John von…

2026-08-03 · 07:25 UTC ·@ylecun ·1 min read

Brief

The Courant Institute's roots in applied mathematics and computing trace to Richard Courant's 1928 numerical PDE methods and von Neumann's 1940 insight that electronic computers could implement them. Founded as NYU's math department in 1935, the institute added a 1952 AEC computer and computing laboratory, spun off CS in 1969 (Jacob T. Schwartz), and maintained HPC resources that enabled AI research to grow.

Why it matters

Richard Courant proposed numerical methods for solving PDEs in 1928; John von Neumann in 1940 showed electronic computers could run those methods — developments that are described as ancestors of finite element methods tied to NYU's Courant Institute.

Key details

  • The Courant Institute began as NYU's mathematics department in 1935; in 1952 the Atomic Energy Commission installed a powerful electronic computer at NYU, leading to the creation of the Courant Mathematics and Computing Laboratory.
  • Jacob T. Schwartz spun off NYU's computer science department from mathematics in 1969; Courant is now a school with departments of mathematics, computer science, and data science, and its continued HPC center presence helped AI research take off.
Source evidence

Mathematics and computing have had a very tight relationship in some corners of academia.

Richard Courant proposed methods to solve PDEs numerically in 1928.
Von Neuman figured out you could use electronic computers for it in 1940.
Both were mathematicians.

These methods are the ancestors of finite element methods, for which NYU's Courant Institute is famous.
The Courant Institute was created in 1935 as NYU's mathematics department.
It was unusual in that there was a lot of work on numerical analysis and scientific computing, with heavy use of supercomputers.
In 1952, the Atomic Energy Commission installed a powerful electronic computer at NYU, which led to the creation of the Courant Mathematics and Computing Laboratory.
The computer science department was spun off from mathematics in 1969 by Jacob T Schwartz.
Courant is now a school with three departments: mathematics, computer science, and data science.
The continued existence of an HPC center at NYU is one factor that enabled AI research to take off.