Wolfgang Gustav Knauss (born December 12, 1933, in Mandel near Bad Kreuznach) is a German-born American engineer. He was Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

Education

Knauss grew up in Siegen during the Second World War as the son of a Methodist pastor. In 1954 he made his Abitur at the Helmholtz Realgymnasium in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. After the war, the acquaintance of a Methodist pastor from Pasadena (Frank Williams), who visited the family in Heidelberg, enabled Knauss to attend Pasadena City College and study at

from 1955 with a bachelor's degree in 1958. Originally, he wanted to study rocket technology, but ended up studying fracture mechanics with aeronautics professor Max L. Williams. He earned his master's degree in 1959 and received his doctorate in 1963.

Research and career

Knauss became an assistant professor and carried out research on fracture propagation in viscoelastic materials on behalf of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

, which was relevant to solid rocket engines. In 1969 he became Associate Professor and in 1978 Professor of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics. From 2001 he held the Von Karman Professorship and in 2004 he retired. In 2010, he was awarded the

Timoshenko Medal The Timoshenko Medal is an award given annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to an individual "in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics." The Timoshenko Medal, widely regarded as t ...

for fundamental contributions to fracture mechanics, including mixed-type fractures, dynamic fractures, interface and adhesion fractures, and microscale characterization of material behavior and failure with an emphasis on experimental mechanics. In 1986/87 he received the Humboldt Research Prize, working at Universities of

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and Kassel. In 1977 he gave lectures in the Soviet Union at the invitation of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, later being named a Foreign Member and receiving the Kapitza Medal in 1997. In 1995 the Murray Medal of the Society for Experimental Mechanics. In 1998 he became a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for contributions on time-dependent fracture mechanics of polymers, at interfaces and under dynamic loads. In 2001 he received the

Koiter Medal The Warner T. Koiter Medal was established in 1996 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It is awarded in recognition of distinguished work in the field of solid mechanics. The award was funded by the Technical University of Delft in th ...

from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was the co-founder with Igor Emri of the Mechanics of Time Dependent Materials journal. Knauss advised aerospace companies such as Lockheed ,

Rocketdyne Rocketdyne was an American rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, in the western San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, in southern California. The Rocketdyne Division was founded by North American Avia ...

, Aerojet-General, Hercules, General Dynamics, and

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

(GE Space Division) as well as polymer chemistry companies such as DuPont and Firestone. The Society for Experimental Mechanics introduced the Wolfgang Knauss Young Investigator Award after him in 2018.

Awards and recognition

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Society for Experimental Mechanics *Honorary Member of the Society for Experimental Mechanics * American Society of Mechanical Engineers Timoshenko Medal * American Society of Mechanical Engineers Koiter Medal * Society for Experimental Mechanics B.J. Lazan Award * Society for Experimental Mechanics W.M. Murray Lecture Award

Translation

This article is based in part or in whole on a translation of this

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

of the German Wikipedia article Wolfgang Knauss. The editors of the original article are listed in its page history. This indication merely indicates the origin of the wording and does not serve as a source for the information in this article.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knauss, Wolfgang 1933 births Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering California Institute of Technology faculty American engineers California Institute of Technology alumni Fellows of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Living people German emigrants to the United States German engineers