Ioannis Vardoulakis ( el, Ιωάννης Βαρδουλάκης; 22 March 1949 - 19 September 2009) was an eminent scientist who is known for his major contributions in the modeling of geomaterials, geo-hazards and geotechnical processes. He was the pioneer of the
bifurcation theory
Bifurcation theory is the mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family of curves, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations. ...
of
geomechanics
Geomechanics (from the Greek prefix ''geo-'' meaning "earth"; and "mechanics") is the study of the mechanical state of the earth's crust and the processes occurring in it under the influence of natural physical factors. It involves the study of th ...
, which has led to a better understanding of the long-standing problem of mesh-dependency in the
Finite Element Modeling. He also contributed to the enriched continuum modeling, which allowed for the first time the constitutive modeling of
shear band A shear band (or, more generally, a 'strain localization') is a narrow zone of intense shearing strain, usually of plastic nature, developing during severe deformation of ductile materials.
As an example, a soil (overconsolidated silty-clay) specime ...
s and worked extensively in experimental geomechanics, having developed ingenious devices to test geomaterials.
Biography
Vardoulakis was born in
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
, Crete, in 1949. He obtained his Diploma of Civil Engineering in Structural Engineering (1972) from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and the Doctor of Engineering (1977, Dr.-Ing., 'Mit Auszeichnung', with the Highest Honors) in Soil Mechanics. University of Karlsruhe, W. Germany. He was Chair of Technical Committee 34 (TC34) on Deformation of Earth Materials, of ISSMGE. He was awarded the Bishop Medal 1996 (Geotechnical Research Award of the Institution of Civil Engineers U.K.) and the Medal of the
Japanese Geotechnical Society (2002) for "fundamental contributions to Geomechanics".
See also
*
Continuum Mechanics
*
Geotechnical engineering
*
plasticity
References
External links
Obituaryfrom the ALERT - Geomaterials Network
Personal web pageat NTUA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardoulakis, Ioannis
Greek scientists
1949 births
2009 deaths
People from Chania