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2013 P.S. Theocaris Award: Ares J. Rosakis
For experimental discovery of intersonic rupture, seminal contributions to dynamic failure, and methods to determine stresses in thin-film structures.
Professor Ares J. Rosakis received his bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering science from Oxford University. He earned his Sc.M. and Ph.D. degrees in solid mechanics from Brown University.
Rosakis researches quasi-static and dynamic failure of metals, composites, and interfaces with emphasis on the use of high-speed visible and infrared diagnostics and laser interferometry. He also brings together concepts from engineering fracture mechanics and geophysics to understand earthquake source mechanics and the physics of dynamic rupture. He is credited with the experimental discovery of the phenomenon of “intersonic” shear rupture growth in bimaterials and the associated phenomenon of “super-shear” earthquakes.
Rosakis holds thirteen US patents on thin-film stress measurement and in situ wafer level metrology as well as on high speed infrared thermography. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Most recently he received the commander grade of the French Republic’s Order of Academic Palms.
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P.S. Theocaris was a legendary figure in the mechanics community in Greece. He also was one of the most outstanding experimental stress analysts in the world during the second half of the twentieth century. He was member of the Academy of Athens, the most prestigious distinction of professionals in Greece. He also served as corresponding or, foreign member to other Academies in Europe. He was the recipient of many awards and distinctions. He was elected as SEM Fellow in 1979. As an experimentalist, he is known primarily for his work in moiré, photoelasticity and caustics. 