Background
Fix was born and grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University on a baseball scholarship, where he earned a Bachelor of Science.
Fix was born and grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University on a baseball scholarship, where he earned a Bachelor of Science.
Fix was born and grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University on a baseball scholarship, where he earned a Bachelor of Science. He received his Master of Science degree from Rice University, and in 1968, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard.
In addition to his work in mathematics, Fix was a beer and homebrewing enthusiast and educator, as well as the author of several books about brewing. He died of cancer in 2002. After earning his Doctor of Philosophy, Fix stayed at Harvard as an assistant professor until 1972.
While there, he met Gilbert Strang, and collaborated with him on a paper regarding the Fourier analysis of finite element methods (Finite element method).
In 1973, he and Strang published An Analysis of the Finite Element Method, a book that gave the latest advances in Finite element method "publicity and respectability". (Max Gunzburger of Iowa State University called it "one of the most important and influential applied mathematics books ever published")
Fix moved to University of Maryland in 1972, and then to University of Michigan.
He served as the chair of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University for over 20 years, and served in the same role at University of Texas at Arlington and Clemson University. He also taught at University of Bonn.
During his academic tenure, he published two books and over 100 papers.
In addition to his seminal work on Finite element method, his papers included works on iterative methods, grid generation, and integral equations in the context of Finite element method. He also made contributions concerning numerical applications of real-world applications, including solid mechanics, acoustics, and jets and sprays, as well as computational geometry as it applied to the modeling of developable surfaces. Fix also applied his talents to amateur beer brewing. He was a consultant to numerous microbreweries and brewpubs, and served as an expert witness in brewing-related litigation.
In 1999, he wrote Principles of Brewing Science, considered a standard reference for homeand craft-brewers.
He served on the Board of Advisors of the American Heart Association, the editorial board of Brewing Techniques magazine, the steering committee of the Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing, and was a member of Beer Judge Certification Program, the American Association of Brewing Chemists, and the Master Brewers Association of America.