Bernard Budiansky (8 March 1925 – 23 January 1999) was an American scholar in the field of

applied mechanics Applied mechanics is the branch of science concerned with the motion of any substance that can be experienced or perceived by humans without the help of instruments. In short, when mechanics concepts surpass being theoretical and are applied and e ...

, and made seminal contributions to the mechanics of structures and mechanics of materials. He was a recipient of 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 ...

Biography

Budiansky was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on March 8, 1925, to Russian immigrant parents, Louis and Rose (Chaplick) Budiansky. Upon obtaining a Bachelor of

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

degree from City College of New York in 1944 when he was barely over 19, he became an aeronautical research scientist at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (

NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

, forerunner to

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 ...

) at

Langley Field, Virginia Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1 ...

. He took an educational leave from NACA to enroll in 1947 in the graduate program in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

at Brown University, completing his Ph.D. in 1950 with a dissertation entitled ''Fundamental Theorems and Consequences of the Slip Theory of Plasticity''. He returned to Langley in 1950 and, in 1952, was appointed Head of the Structural Mechanics Branch. He joined the faculty of Harvard in 1955. He made widely cited contributions on the way that fissures and joints in rocks affect the propagation of

seismic waves A seismic wave is a wave of acoustic energy that travels through the Earth. It can result from an earthquake, volcanic eruption, magma movement, a large landslide, and a large man-made explosion that produces low-frequency acoustic energy. ...

, which has become a standard basis for inferring rock properties in the Earth, and contributed to understanding stressing and deformation in the inflation of the human lung. His work of the later years was focused on problems in the domain of materials science, explaining mechanical properties of solids in terms of microscopic mechanisms. He referred to this important area as "

micromechanics Micromechanics (or, more precisely, micromechanics of materials) is the analysis of composite or heterogeneous materials on the level of the individual constituents that constitute these materials. Aims of micromechanics of materials Heterogeneo ...

". He was one of its pioneers, and contributed to explanation of the fracture of ductile metals and the toughening of normally brittle

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

s and

composite materials A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

. Budiansky won many honors including the AIAA 1970 Dryden Research Lecturer; CCNY 1974 Townsend Harris Medal; ASCE 1982

von Karman Medal The Theodore von Karman Medal in Engineering Mechanics is awarded annually to an individual in recognition of his distinguished achievement in engineering mechanics, applicable to any branch of civil engineering. This award was established and end ...

;

Society of Engineering Science A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...

1985

Eringen Medal The A. C. Eringen Medal or Eringen Medal is an award given annually bthe Society of Engineering Science(SES) to an individual "in recognition of sustained outstanding achievements in Engineering Science". This award was established in 1976. The ...

; ASME 1989

. He received honorary doctorates from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

1986 and Technion Israel Institute of Technology. In addition he was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, 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 ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

; the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the Danish Center for Applied Mathematics and Mechanics. Professional affiliations included: ASCE, ASME, AIAA, and AGU. Bernard Budiansky died January 23, 1999, at his home in

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

, aged 73.

References

External links

*
James R. Rice, "Bernard Budiansky", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2008)Acceptance speech upon receiving the Timoshenko Medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budiansky, Bernard 1925 births 1999 deaths People from Lexington, Massachusetts Brown University alumni Harvard University faculty Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Scientists from New York City Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences ASME Medal recipients Engineers from New York City 20th-century American engineers

Biography

See also

References

External links