First Winner Announced

Professor Michael Ortiz

Elsevier is delighted to announce that the first winner of the Rodney Hill Prize in Solid Mechanics is Professor Michael Ortiz, Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.

The prize is awarded in recognition of outstanding research in the field of solid mechanics and consists of a plaque and a check for $25,000.

Michael Ortiz was selected by the panel for a remarkable stream of achievements during the period 1998—2007, encompassing physical modelling, mathematical analysis and computational techniques and including, in particular

• Development of the quasi-continuum method for multiscale modelling;
• Formulation of new incremental variational methodology for plastic deformation, with non-convex dissipation functions leading naturally to the formation of dislocation sub-structures;
• Development of a three-dimensional, finite deformation cohesive element model for simulation of fracture and fragmentation, and associated development of symplectic integrators;
• Novel exploitation of tools from algebraic topology in the study of crystal lattices with defects.

Professor Ortiz will deliver a Prize Lecture at the International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (  ICTAM) (August 2008, Adelaide). The award will be presented prior to the lecture.

>> Full details of the prize

>>   Read the CalTech press release