Olgierd Zienkiewicz facts for kids

Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz CBE FRS FREng (born May 18, 1921 – died January 2, 2009) was a very important British academic and civil engineer with Polish roots. He was born in Caterham, England. He was one of the first people to develop and use the finite element method. This method is a powerful way to solve difficult engineering problems using computers. From his first paper in 1947, which looked at how to figure out the stress in dams, he wrote almost 600 papers and more than 25 books.

Early Life and Education

Olgierd Zienkiewicz went to school in Poland, where his father worked as a judge. His family moved to the UK because of World War II.

In the early 1940s, Zienkiewicz studied civil engineering at Imperial College London. He earned his degree with top honors in 1943. After that, he received a scholarship and stayed at Imperial College for two more years. He researched dams under the guidance of Professors Alfred Pippard and Sir Richard V. Southwell. In 1945, he earned his PhD degree. His research helped improve how engineers design large structures like dams.

Amazing Contributions to Science

Zienkiewicz was special because he saw that the finite element method could be used for many different problems. It wasn't just for understanding how solid objects behave. The main idea behind this method is to create computer tools that can help designers. These tools are useful for solving real-world problems, not just for research.

His books on the finite element method were the first to explain this topic. Even today, they are still the main books that engineers use to learn about it. In 1968, he also started the first journal about "computational mechanics." This journal, called International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, is still very important in the field of computer calculations.

Worldwide Recognition

Olgierd Zienkiewicz worked in many different places around the world. He was a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in the UK from 1949 to 1957. Then, he became a professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA, from 1957 to 1961.

From 1961 to 1988, he was the head of the Civil Engineering Department at Swansea University in the UK. Later, he became a Professor Emeritus there, which means he was a retired professor who still had an important role. He also taught at other places, including:

• The International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) in Barcelona, Spain.
• The Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain.
• The University of Texas in Austin, USA.

Awards and Honors

Zienkiewicz received more than 30 honorary degrees. These special degrees came from many countries, including Ireland, Belgium, China, Poland, France, Italy, and the United States.

He was also chosen to be a member of many important groups, such as:

• The Royal Society
• The Royal Academy of Engineering
• The United States National Academy of Engineering
• The Polish Academy of Science
• The Chinese Academy of Sciences

He received many awards and medals for his work, including:

• The Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• The Royal Medal from the Royal Society
• The Timoshenko Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• The Prince Philip Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering

Zienkiewicz helped create the association of computational mechanics in engineering (ACME) for the United Kingdom in 1992. He was the honorary president of this group for the rest of his life.

The Institution of Civil Engineers gives out a special award in his honor every two years. This award, called the Zienkiewicz Numerical Methods in Engineering Prize, started in 1998. It celebrates his amazing work in using computer methods for engineering.

See also

• Imperial College Civil & Environmental Engineering