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FENOMECH '78Special Banquet

September 1,1978

Institut fur Statik und Dynamikder Luft- und Raumfahrtkonstruktionen,University of Stuttgart

(-1979 NORTH-HOLLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY - AMSTERDAM

LIST OF CONTI~IBUTIONS

I. Prc/c/(c

:: .1 ddrcss In Millis/er Pes/cl

lauda/io In' Profcssor OdCl1

5. raudalio In Pru/i.'ssor Rice

(I. N.cpll' hI' Pru.!i's,'iUr Prager

7. Spc('ch hI' 111illislerialdirck {ur Pia;:olo

8. S/}{'('ch In Professor lIIort IIW II II

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XXIII

XXVII

XXIX

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3. LAUDATIO BY PROFESSOR ODEN

It is an interesting collection of circumstances that brings us to this moment - the seeds ofthree important events were sown in the early decades of this century that were to be cultivated,to grow, and to eventually coalesce and bloom during the 1950's, bringing with them a new erain structural and solid mechanics. First, there was a new infant born into an old and distinguishedByzantine family in Volos, Greece, in 1913 - a family with a tradition of statesmen, poets,scholars and scientists and including in their numbers the likes of Constantine Caratheodory.It was from this environment and tradition that young John Argyris came, equipped with theintellect, discipline, and energy to make his mark in some field of intellectual endeavor. Second,there was his choice to direct his talents to science and engineering. The decision was a natural onefor the period of his early manhood - a period of growth in the industrial revolution, the earlyformative years of the aeronautical sciences, and the beginning of an important new era in scienceand technology. The multitude of exciting problems facing structural engineers and mechaniciansof the day presented an irresistable challenge to young Argyris; to meet it, he began studies ofcivil engineering at the Technical University of Athens, went on to earn the Dipl. Ing. with thehighest distinction at the Technical University of Munich. The third event was the advent of elec-tronic computation, reaching adolescence in the early '50's and into the waiting hands of giftedleaders to guide it into maturity as a tool for scientific research.

Before modern computing devices began to have an impact on technology, Argyris was amassingskills that would prove to be invaluable in his later work. He pursued post~graduate work in aero-nautics, mechanics, mathematics, and physics at the Technical Universities of Berlin and Zurichand obtained valuable practical experience as a senior project designer for a large firm in Stettin.His heart was always in basic research in the aeronautical sciences. In 1942 he earned at the SwissInstitute of Technology a postgraduate degree in Aeronautics under Ackeret. In 1943, he joinedthe Research Department of the Royal Aeronautical Society where he did work in structuralmechanics and flutter analysis; and in 1949 he became a Reader in Aeronautical Structures at theImperial College of Science and Technology in London. He received the degree of Doctor ofScience in Engineering from the University of London in 1957.

It was during this period that the scientific community caught its first glimpse of the geniusof Argyris in the publication, with P.e. Dunne, of one of his most important works: "The GeneralTheory of Conical and Cylindrical Tubes under Torsion and Bending". Theodore von Karmancharacterized it as "the greatest achievement in the analytical theory of aircraft structures".Because of work of this calibre, he was appointed to a newly created Chair of AeronauticalStructures at the University of London in 1954, the only one of its kind in the Commonwealth.

His work on conical tubes and aircraft structures was also referred to by von Karman as "thepinnacle and the end of a period in aeronautical science", because during the period tha t it waspublished the first commercial electronic computers were being produced. They were primitiveby modern standards, and few could predict the impact they would have on technology.

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xvi Laudatio by Professor Odell

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It took little time for Argyris to recognize the importance of this new tool, and in the early1950's he began a series of penetrating studies that has lasted nearly 30 years and has producedsome of the most important contributions to structural mechanics in history. Perhaps his mostimportant work in this period, in terms of its impact on structural mechanics. was his pioneeringpaper "Energy Theorems and Structural Analysis" the first portion of which was published in1954. Here he laid down the foundations of matrix theory and structural analysis, dual force anddisplacement methods, and the principles of the finite element method. Von Karman appropriate-ly described his work as "revolutionary, and the beginning of a new era in aeronautical science".

After this work followed a multitude of important contributions including "Modern FuselageAnalysis and the Elastic Aircraft" published with S. Kelsey in 1963; his definitive "Continua andDiscontinua" published in 1965, firmly established Argyris as the leading authority on moderncomputational methods for problems in solid and structural mechanics. In 1959 he became jointlyUniversity Professor and Director of the Institute for Statics and Dynamics, University of Stuttgart,and the Computing Center, and designed the entire aeronautics and astronautics campus at theUniversity of Stuttgart, still retaining his Chair at Imperial College. He developed a team ofscholars and researchers in Stuttgart working in computational methods in mechanics that hasearned an international reputation over the last two decades.

He is a prolific writer, having published over 250 scientific papers and six books. His book,Energy Theorems in Structural Mechanics (1954), is still a standard text, and the first volume ofhis most recent treatise, An Introduction into the Finite Element Theory, will be published in1979. There were many papers by him and his colleagues on the development of new efficientnumerical schemes, techniques for solving large systems of linear and nonlinear equations, newfamilies of finite elements such as the TUBA family of plate elements, and SHEBA, its generaliza-tion to shells. His work has not been restricted to solid mechanics; he has developed generalnumerical schemes for finite elements in space and time, produced finite element applications toincompressible lubrication problems, potential flow problems and problems in celestical mechanics,and he has developed numerical techniques applicable to broad areas of mathematical physics.

During the last 16 years he has devoted his energies almost exclusively to studies in nonlinearproblems in solid and structural mechanics and has produced important contributions to this field.His unique analysis of the Olympic Stadium Roof in Munich in 1972 brought to the world newmethods for the calculation of pre-stressed cable networks and was an important contribution toexisting knowledge on nonlinear structural behavior.

It is natural for one with the unique talents and energy of John Argyris to have received manyhonors and accolades during his career. In 1975 he received the von Karman medal from theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers, its highest award 'for scientific engineering achievement. Heis a member of numerous international committees; he is an Honorary Fellow of the RoyalAeronautics Society, London, a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,an Honorary Fellow of the Groupe pour l'Avancement des Methodes Numeriques de L'Ingenieur(GAMNI), a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences in Athens, member of Gesellschaft fUr ange-wandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM), member of Deutsche Gesellfschaft fUr Raketen-technik und Raumfahrt, Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDJ\ ... -· .....h~rof the Advisory Council ofScientific Research and Technical Development, the Aeronautical Research Council, and numerousother organizations. He is a consultant to many British, German, and American industrial firms.

Argyris received an honorary doctorate from the University of Genoa in 1970 with special dis-

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tinction awarded on the hundredth anniversary of its Faculty of Applied Mechanics and ShipBuilding. He received the George Taylor Prize, a gold medal from the Royal Aeronatical Society,London, as well as a silver medal from the Society in 1971. He received an honorary doctoratefrom the University of Norway at Trondheim in 1972 and became an Honorary Fellow with theCity of Guilds Institute in London in 1976,

Many decades from now when historians look back on our era and list those to whom they owethe creation and development of much of the foundation of computational methods for problemsin nonlinear mechanics, there is little doubt that one will find there the name of John H. Argyrisand his genius. However, perhaps the happiest note in this account is that it is merely a progressreport and not a final summary of a man's work. John Argyris is still an active researcher incomputational mechanics and pursues the subject with the interest and vigor he has demonstratedall his life. We of the scientific community anxiously await more of his work in the future.

Laudatio by Professor Oden xvii

J. Tinsley OdenUniJlersity of Texas. Austin