Raymond D. Mindlin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Raymond David Mindlin (1906-09-17)September 17, 1906 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1987(1987-11-22) (aged 81) Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia College, Columbia University (BA) Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science (BS) |
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer |
| Awards | Medal for Merit (1946) Theodore von Karman Medal (1961) Timoshenko Medal (1964) ASME Medal (1976) National Medal of Science (1979) |
Raymond David Mindlin (New York City, 17 September 1906 – 22 November 1987) was an Americanmechanical engineer, Professor of Applied Science at Columbia University, and recipient of the 1946Presidential Medal for Merit and many other awards and honours.[1] He is known asmechanician, who made seminal contributions to many branches ofapplied mechanics,applied physics, andengineering sciences.
In 1924 he enrolled atColumbia University, where he received a B.A. in 1928,[2] followed by a B.S. in 1931, and in 1932 by a C.E. and the Illig medal for "proficiency in scholarship." During his graduate study, Mindlin attended a series of summer courses organized byStephen Timoshenko in 1933, '34, and '35, and there is no doubt that the experience at theUniversity of Michigan served to confirm him in his choice of his life's work.
For his doctoral research Mindlin set himself a fundamental problem in theoreticalelasticity: determining the stresses in an elastic half-space subjected to a sub-surface point load. The results, nowadays referred to as "Mindlin's problem", represent a generalization of the two classical 19th century solutions respectively associated with the names ofKelvin andBoussinesq, and have become the basis for analytical formulations widely employed ingeotechnical engineering. His paper was published inPhysics (now theJournal of Applied Physics) in 1936, the year Mindlin received his Ph.D. degree.
Mindlin remained an assistant for another two years, at which point he was elevated to instructor incivil engineering, and only in 1940 did he receive promotion to assistant professor.
In 1942 Mindlin was co-opted by theApplied Physics Laboratory inSilver Spring, Maryland, an institution engaged in naval ordnance work, where he contributed in the development of theproximity fuze. For his part in its success, he was presented with thePresidential Medal for Merit.
He came back to Columbia in 1945 as an associate professor, and two years later attained the rank of professor. In 1967 he was appointedJames Kip Finch Professor of Applied Science until his retirement in 1975. The Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics established the Mindlin Lecture to honor his pioneering contributions to the field of applied mechanics.[3]
Mindlin died on November 22, 1987, inHanover, New Hampshire.[4]
The Collected Papers of Raymond D. Mindlin (2 vols, Springer-Verlag, 1989) collected 129 papers authored or co-authored by Mindlin. The major contributions of Mindlin were summarized in 8 papers by his students and friends in a book dedicated to his retirement,R.D. Mindlin and Applied Mechanics (Pergamon, 1974). These include:
Mindlin served with devotion the profession which he made his life's work, through his research, his teaching, his advisory capacity to numerous government agencies, and his activities in various scientific and technical societies. Among the latter, mention is warranted of the following positions he held at various times:
Also, he was member of: the U.S. National Committee for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; the General Assembly of theInternational Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM); theAmerican Physical Society.
