Johann Hadji Argyris FRS (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ιωάννης Χατζι Αργύρης; 19 August 1913 – 2 April 2004) was a Greek pioneer of computer applications in science and engineering,Hughes TJR, Oden JT, and Papadrakakis M (2011) ''John H Argyris'', Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, 15, 24–31. among the creators of the

finite element method The finite element method (FEM) is a popular method for numerically solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modeling. Typical problem areas of interest include the traditional fields of structural analysis, heat ...

(FEM), and lately Professor at the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany wit ...

and Director of the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Dynamics in Aerospace Engineering.

Education

He was born in Volos, Greece but the family moved to Athens where he was educated in the Classical Gymnasium. He studied civil engineering for four years in the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

and then in the

Technical University Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

, receiving his Engineering Diploma in 1936. Following his escape from Nazi Germany he completed his Doctorate at

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

in 1942.

Career

His first job was at the Gollnow company in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

, where he was involved among other things in high radio transmitter masts. In 1943, he joined the research department of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

in England. Starting from 1949 he was lecturer in aeronautical engineering at the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where he assumed a chair in 1955. In 1959, Argyris was appointed a professor at the Technical University of Stuttgart (today University of Stuttgart) and director of the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Dynamics in Aerospace Engineering. He created the Aeronautical and Astronautical Campus of the University of Stuttgart as focal point for applications of digital computers and electronics. Argyris was involved in and developed to a large extent the Finite Element Method along with

Ray William Clough Ray William Clough, (July 23, 1920 – October 8, 2016), was Byron L. and Elvira E. Nishkian Professor of structural engineering in the department of civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the founders of the finite ...

and

Olgierd Zienkiewicz Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz (18 May 1921 – 2 January 2009) was a British academic of Polish descent, mathematician, and civil engineer. He was born in Caterham, England. He was one of the early pioneers of the finite element method. Since ...

after an early mathematical pre-working of

Richard Courant Richard Courant (January 8, 1888 – January 27, 1972) was a German American mathematician. He is best known by the general public for the book '' What is Mathematics?'', co-written with Herbert Robbins. His research focused on the areas of real ...

Awards and honours

Argyris was awarded the

Silver Medal in 1971. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in March 1986. His nomination reads:

Personal life

When World War II started Argyris was in Berlin at The Technical University. He was arrested and interned accused of passing research secrets to the Allies. However he was saved from execution by Admiral Canaris (also of Greek descent) who arranged his escape. After swimming the Rhine during an air-raid, he made his way to Switzerland. Here he entered ETH Zurich to complete his Doctorate. Argyris died in Stuttgart and is buried in the Sankt Jörgens Cemetery in the city of Varberg, Sweden. His uncle, Constantin Carathéodory, was a

mathematician of the

Modern Era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argyris, John 1913 births 2004 deaths Aerospace engineers Structural engineers Academics of Imperial College London

Greek academics Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

People associated with the finite element method 20th-century Greek engineers Engineering educators Royal Medal winners National Technical University of Athens alumni Technical University of Munich alumni People from Volos Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal winners Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Greek expatriates in Germany