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Kane S. Yee

Kane S. Yee is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kane S. Yee rather than just read about it. In short: Kane Shee-Gong Yee (born March 26, 1934) is a Chinese-American electrical engineer and mathematician. He is best known for introducing the finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) in 1966.

Key takeaways

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  • Reproduce the core statement of Kane S. Yee from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kane Shee-Gong Yee (born March 26, 1934) is a Chinese-American electrical engineer and mathematician. He is best known for introducing the finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) in 1966. His research interests include numerical electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, continuum mechanics and numerical analysis of partial differential equations.

Biography Yee was born on March 26, 1934, in Guangzhou, Republic of China. He received his B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from University of California, Berkeley in 1957 and 1958, respectively. He has completed his PhD in applied mathematics department at the same university under the supervision of Bernard Friedman in 1963; his dissertation involved the study of boundary value problems for Maxwell's equations. From 1959 to 1961, he was employed at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, researching diffraction in electromagnetic waves. In 1966, Yee published a paper on the use of a finite difference staggered grids algorithm in the solution of Maxwell's equations. Yee was initially motivated by his self-studies in Fortran to develop the method. Appearing on IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, the article received little attention at the time of its release. The incorrect numerical stability conditions on Yee's paper were corrected by Dong-Hoa Lam in 1969 and Allen Taflove and Morris E. Brodwin in 1975. The method was subsequently renamed as finite-difference time-domain method in 1980. FDTD is also referred as Yee algorithm, with its specific discretized grid being known as Yee lattice or Yee cell. Between 1966 and 1984, Yee became a professor of electrical engineering and mathematics at the University of Florida and later at Kansas State University. He became a consultant to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1966, working on microwave vulnerability problems at the same institute from 1984 to 1987. In 1987, he became a research scientist at Lockheed Palo Alto Research Lab, working on computational electromagnetics problems and retiring in 1996.

Selected publications Yee, Kane S. (May 1966). "Numerical Solution of Initial Boundary Value Problems Involving Maxwell's Equations in Isotropic Media" (PDF). IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 14 (3): 302–307. Bibcode:1966ITAP...14..302Y. doi:10.1109/TAP.1966.1138693. S2CID 122712881. Taflove, A.; Umashankar, K.R.; Beker, B.; Harfoush, F.; Yee, K.S. (February 1988). "Detailed FD-TD analysis of electromagnetic fields penetrating narrow slots and lapped joints in thick conducting screens". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 36 (2): 247–257. Bibcode:1988ITAP...36..247T. doi:10.1109/8.1102. Yee, K.S.; Ingham, D.; Shlager, K. (March 1991). "Time-domain extrapolation to the far field based on FDTD calculations". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 39 (3): 410–413. Bibcode:1991ITAP...39..410Y. doi:10.1109/8.76342. Zivanovic, S.S.; Yee, K.S.; Mei, K.K. (March 1991). "A subgridding method for the time-domain finite-difference method to solve Maxwell's equations". IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. 39 (3): 471–479. Bibcode:1991ITMTT..39..471Z. doi:10.1109/22.75289. Yee, K.S.; Chen, J.S.; Chang, A.H. (June 1992). "Conformal finite difference time domain (FDTD) with overlapping grids". IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium 1992 Digest. pp. 1949–1952 vol.4. doi:10.1109/APS.1992.221489. ISBN 0-7803-0730-5. S2CID 121846336. Yee, Kane S.; Chen, Jei S. (March 1997). "The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and the finite-volume time-domain (FVTD) methods in solving Maxwell's equations". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 45 (3): 354–363. Bibcode:1997ITAP...45..354Y. doi:10.1109/8.558651.

See also Computational electromagnetics Finite difference method Finite difference time-domain method Finite volume method

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kane S. Yee

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kane S. Yee claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kane S. Yee before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kane S. Yee ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kane S. Yee

In research
Kane S. Yee appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Kane S. Yee in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Kane S. Yee is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1934 births, 20th-century American engineers, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Kane S. Yee outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Kane S. Yee in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Kane S. Yee means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Kane S. Yee out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kane S. Yee in simple terms?

Kane Shee-Gong Yee (born March 26, 1934) is a Chinese-American electrical engineer and mathematician. He is best known for introducing the finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) in 1966.

Why does Kane S. Yee matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kane S. Yee?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kane S. Yee.

Tags

  • 1934 births
  • 20th-century American engineers
  • 20th-century American mathematicians
  • 20th-century Chinese engineers
  • 20th-century Chinese mathematicians
  • American microwave engineers
  • Chinese electrical engineers
  • Chinese emigrants to the United States
  • Electrical engineering academics
  • Kansas State University faculty
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory staff
  • Living people

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