Int. J./Irol Mass Transfer. Vol. 26, No. 12, pp. 1731-173 2, 1983
Pcr};Jmon Press Ltd. Printedin Great Britain

PROFESSOR BEl TSE CHAOON HIS 65TH BIRTHDAYPROFESSOR BEl TSE (B.T.) CHAO, currently Head,
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A.,
has made outstanding contributions to heat transfer
research and education over the past 35 years. It
is indeed a great pleasure to honor his record ofachievements on his 65th birthday.
Professor Chao has a very interesting multi-nationaland multi-disciplinary background. Born in China on
18 December 1918, he received his B.S. degree inElectrical Engineering in 1939 from the Chiao-Tung
University, Shanghai, China, and spent a few years(1939-1944) as a practicing engineer at the Central
Machine Works in China. Partly due to his job
assignment, his interest shifted from electricalengineering to mechanical engineering, particularlymetal machining. In the midst of the Second WorldWar, he went to England for advanced studies andcompleted his Ph .D. work at the University ofManchester in 1947.Joining the University of Illinois in1948 to continue his research and teaching, hecollaborated for several years with Professor K. J.
Trigger to tackle the difficult subject of thethermophysics of metal cutting. Their published workon this subject remains a classic in the field. In

recognition of this contribution, they were awarded theASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award in
1957. This work also served as a bridge for Professor
Chao to devote more elTort to the rapidly exp anding
field of heat transfer.
The decade of the 1960s was a most prolific research
period for Professor Chao. He made pioneering
contributions on a variety of topics, including liquid
metal heat transfer, thermal contact resistance, thermal
modeling ofspacecraft, bubble and particle dynamics in
110ws, and lamin ar boundary layer heat transfer. In
recognition of these contributions Professor Chao hasreceived many honors including the 1971 ASME Heat
Transfer Division Memorial Award. Despite the heavy
administrative duties associated with his appointment
as Department Head in 1975, Professor Chao has
continued to produce research results of the highest
quality. In addition, for the period of 1975-1981, hefound time to serve as a Technical Editor of the ASME
Journal of Heat Transfer.
Professor Chao is also widely known for his devotionand excellence in the teaching of heat transfer.
Recognition of his outstanding teaching includes twoawards from the American Society of Engineering
Education: the Western Electric Fund Award in 1973

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PROFESSOR BEl TSE CHAO

and the Mechanical Engineering Division Outstanding
Teaching Award in 1975.
For his contributions to heat transfer research andteaching, Professor Chao was elected to the membership of the U.S. National Academy of Engineeringin 1981.
Professor Chao's accomplishments would not havebeen possible without the devoted and loving care andencouragement from his wife May. Their happy family

also includes two adopted children (a son and adaughter), both of whom now have successful businesscareers of their own in Brazil.
On the occasion of his 65th birthday, we join withmany of his col1eagues and friends to wish him many
years of continued professional success, good healthand family happiness.
CHANG-LIN TIE~JAMES P. HARTNETT