Olgierd Zienkiewicz
Encyclopedia
Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz, CBE
, FREng
, FRS
(18 May 1921 – 2 January 2009) was a British
academic, mathematician
, and civil engineer
. He was born in Caterham
, England
. He was one of the early pioneers of the finite element method
. Since his first paper in 1947 dealing with numerical approximation to the stress analysis
of dams, he published nearly 600 papers and wrote or edited more than 25 books.
, where his father was a judge of the Katowice
district. He and his family family moved to the UK due to the World War II
.
Zienkiewicz studied in the early 1940s at Imperial College London
for an undergraduate BSc (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering
which he obtained in 1943 with first class honours. Then, after being offered a scholarship, he stayed for two more years at Imperial College to carry out research on dams under the supervision of Professors A. J. S. Pippard
and Sir R. V. Southwell
. He was awarded the PhD degree in 1945 with his thesis title "Classical theories of gravity dam design in the light of modern analytical methods".
. The idea behind finite elements design is to develop tools based in computational mechanics
schemes that can be useful to designers, not solely for research purposes. His books on the Finite Element Method were the first to present the subject and to this day remain the standard reference texts. He also founded the first journal dealing with computational mechanics in 1968 (International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering), which is still the major journal for the field of Numerical Computations.
, UK (1949–1957) before becoming Professor of Structural and Civil Engineering at Northwestern University
, Illinois, USA (1957–1961). From 1961 to 1988 he was Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Swansea University
. He was latterly Professor Emeritus of this institution. Other teaching positions have included:
He was elected to a number of learned societies, including:
He has been the recipient of many honors, awards, and medals. including
He was instrumental in setting up the association of computational mechanics in engineering (ACME) for the United Kingdom in 1992 and was the honorary president for the association for the rest of his life.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FREng
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
, FRS
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(18 May 1921 – 2 January 2009) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
academic, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, and civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. He was born in Caterham
Caterham
Caterham is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is geographically divided into two sections: Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley - the main town centre. The town lies close to the A22, a few miles south of Croydon, in a valley cut into the dip slope of the North Downs...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was one of the early pioneers of the finite element method
Finite element method in structural mechanics
The Finite element method is a powerful technique originally developed for numerical solution of complex problems in structural mechanics, and it remains the method of choice for complex systems. In the FEM, the structural system is modeled by a set of appropriate finite elements interconnected at...
. Since his first paper in 1947 dealing with numerical approximation to the stress analysis
Stress analysis
Stress analysis is an engineering discipline that determines the stress in materials and structures subjected to static or dynamic forces or loads. A stress analysis is required for the study and design of structures, e.g., tunnels, dams, mechanical parts, and structural frames among others, under...
of dams, he published nearly 600 papers and wrote or edited more than 25 books.
Early education
His school education took place in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, where his father was a judge of the Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
district. He and his family family moved to the UK due to the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Zienkiewicz studied in the early 1940s at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
for an undergraduate BSc (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering
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 works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
which he obtained in 1943 with first class honours. Then, after being offered a scholarship, he stayed for two more years at Imperial College to carry out research on dams under the supervision of Professors A. J. S. Pippard
Alfred Pippard
Alfred John Sutton Pippard MBE FRS was a British civil engineer and academic. Pippard was the son of a carpenter and joiner and spent much of his early life helping his father on construction sites...
and Sir R. V. Southwell
Richard V. Southwell
Sir Richard Vynne Southwell MA, LLD, FRS was a British mathematician who specialized in applied mechanics as an engineering science academic.- Education and career :...
. He was awarded the PhD degree in 1945 with his thesis title "Classical theories of gravity dam design in the light of modern analytical methods".
Contributions to science
Zienkiewicz was notable for having recognized the general potential for using the finite element method to resolve problems in areas outside the area of solid mechanicsSolid mechanics
Solid mechanics is the branch of mechanics, physics, and mathematics that concerns the behavior of solid matter under external actions . It is part of a broader study known as continuum mechanics. One of the most common practical applications of solid mechanics is the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation...
. The idea behind finite elements design is to develop tools based in computational mechanics
Computational mechanics
Computational mechanics is the discipline concerned with the use of computational methods to study phenomena governed by the principles of mechanics. Before the emergence of computational science as a "third way" besides theoretical and experimental sciences, computational mechanics was widely...
schemes that can be useful to designers, not solely for research purposes. His books on the Finite Element Method were the first to present the subject and to this day remain the standard reference texts. He also founded the first journal dealing with computational mechanics in 1968 (International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering), which is still the major journal for the field of Numerical Computations.
International recognition
The international range of Zienkiewicz' academic experiences has been geographically diverse. He became a lecturer at the Department of Engineering, University of EdinburghUniversity of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, UK (1949–1957) before becoming Professor of Structural and Civil Engineering at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Illinois, USA (1957–1961). From 1961 to 1988 he was Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
. He was latterly Professor Emeritus of this institution. Other teaching positions have included:
- International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering at CIMNE, BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain—Professor of Numerical Methods in Engineering - Polytechnic University of Catalonia at Barcelona, Spain—UNESCO Chair of Numerical Methods in Engineering
- University of Texas, Austin—Joe C. Walter Chair of Engineering.
Honours
Zienkiewicz received honorary degrees from Ireland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, China, Poland, Scotland, Wales, France, England, Italy, Portugal, Hungary and the United States.He was elected to a number of learned societies, including:
- Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
- Royal Academy of EngineeringRoyal Academy of Engineering-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
, 1979 - United States National Academy of Engineering (foreign member)
- Polish Academy of Science
- Italian National Academy of Sciences
- Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of SciencesThe Chinese Academy of Sciences , formerly known as Academia Sinica, is the national academy for the natural sciences of the People's Republic of China. It is an institution of the State Council of China. It is headquartered in Beijing, with institutes all over the People's Republic of China...
He has been the recipient of many honors, awards, and medals. including
- Commander of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Royal MedalRoyal MedalThe Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
(Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
) - Carl Friedrich GaussCarl Friedrich GaussJohann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics.Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum...
Medal (West German Academy of Science) - Nathan Newmark Medal (American Society of Civil EngineersAmerican Society of Civil EngineersThe American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
) - Newton Gauss Medal (International Association for Computational Mechanics)
- Gold MedalGold MedalGold Medal is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2004 on Atlantic Records. It was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, but was recalled due to a mastering error which resulted in the final track being partially omitted from the CD...
(Institution for Mathematics and its Applications) - Gold MedalGold MedalGold Medal is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2004 on Atlantic Records. It was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, but was recalled due to a mastering error which resulted in the final track being partially omitted from the CD...
(Institution of Structural EngineersInstitution of Structural EngineersThe Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
) - Timoshenko MedalTimoshenko MedalThe Timoshenko Medal is an award given annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to an individual"in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics."...
(American Society of Mechanical EngineersAmerican Society of Mechanical EngineersThe American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
) - Prince Philip MedalPrince Philip MedalThe Prince Philip Medal is named after HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is the Senior Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering...
(Royal Academy of EngineeringRoyal Academy of Engineering-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
), - Zienkiewicz has been listed as an ISI Highly Cited Author in Engineering by the ISI Web of Knowledge, Thomson Scientific Company.
He was instrumental in setting up the association of computational mechanics in engineering (ACME) for the United Kingdom in 1992 and was the honorary president for the association for the rest of his life.