mechanician

David J. Benson is named the 2012 Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award Winner.

The Applied Mechanics Award was established in 1988 by the ASME Applied Mechanics Division. The Award was renamed the Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award in 2008. The Award is given to an outstanding individual for significant contributions in the practice of engineering mechanics; contributions may result from innovation, research, design, leadership or education.

Yuri Bazilevs, Xi Chen, and Kenji Takizawa are named 2012 Thomas J.R. Hughes Young Investigators.

Applied Mechanics Division Honors & Awards Banquet, 15 November 2011, Hyatt Regency, Centennial Ballroom A&B, Third Level.

Professor John W. Hutchinson, of Harvard University, will receive the 2012 Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring.  The award is the highest honor bestowed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt, the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics.   Ludwig Prandtl was a great pioneer of modern Aerodynamics.  The Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring is awarded annually to the maximum of one individual for outstanding contributions to Aeronautics and Astronautics.   

With deep sorrow we write to  convey the sad news that Hassan Aref has just passed away.  According to an email from Ishwar Puri, Head of the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, of Virginia Tech, Professor Hassan Aref went on an extended weekend visit to his home in Illinois on Thursday night.  He died there on Friday, sitting in his chair.

Katia Bertoldi, of Harvard University, has graciously accepted our invitation to be Editor of the iMechanica Journal Club. Katia has a knack to organize really interesting and inspiring symposia and workshops.  Here are two examples:

Extreme Mechanics: Elasticity and Deformation.

The New England Workshop on the Mechanics of Materials and Structures.

G. Ravichandran, John E. Goode, Jr. Professor of Aerospace and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT) has been selected to receive the Chevalier de l'ordre des Palmes Académiques, which is the Knight grade of the French Republic's Order of Academic Palms. Founded by Napoleon in 1808 to honor educators and scholars,  this distinction recognizes eminent personalities who have made significant contributions to the development of French culture, science, and education.

Elsevier Limited has established a prize named The Rodney Hill Prize in Solid Mechanics. This prize, which consists of a plaque and a check for $25,000, is to be awarded in recognition of outstanding research in the field of solid mechanics. The prize is to be awarded every 4 years, to coincide with the quadrennial International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ICTAM). The first prize was awarded at ICTAM 2008 in Adelaide and the second will be awarded at the ICTAM 2012 in Beijing.