The Center for Computational Mechanics
was founded in 1974 in order to provide Washington University Researchers
with a focus for performing research into the newly-formed area of using
computational tools to solve problems in Applied Mechanics. Dr. Barna Szabo,
the founder of the Center, had developed interest in the convergence of finite-element
codes from a rigorous mathematical perspective. He was joined by applied
mathematicians and mechanicians to form a critical mass of expertise to
tackle this problem. The result has been the development of rigorously-based,
p-version finite-element codes.
Shortly after the Center was formed,
it also became clear that some problems the Center had been studying (such
as coupler override in tank car accidents) involved dynamics as well as structural
mechanics. Thus, Dr. David Peters joined the Center in 1975 to study computational
dynamics. His research considered rail car dynamics as well as other dynamic
issues such as rotorcraft aeroelasticity. That work developed finite elements
methodology that treated space and time as a unified, finite-element domain.
From
those beginnings, the Center has fostered research in a number of
computational areas over the past thirty years and has been a place of
nurture for mature researchers, young professors, and graduate students.
We are proud to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary this year.
|
