Student Organization Spotlight: Society of Peer Mentors

LSU Boyd Professor George Z. Voyiadjis was recently named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE. Since the society’s founding in 1852, only 649 ASCE members have been elected to receive this honor.

Voyiadjis was recognized for his contributions to multi-scale modeling of materials to address problems in high energy impact, damage of structures and instabilities, and for developing a sustained research effort in predicting the behavior of materials in structures. He received the award at the ASCE Annual Convention in New York, N.Y. this week.

Some of his notable contributions include leading a joint effort from 1986-1989 on the analysis of the rupture of the Space Shuttle Challenger’s fuel tank. He proposed and developed numerical models and simulations of structures considering damage evolution and helped other researchers and industries achieve a better understanding of a structure’s behavior.

He is currently a Boyd professor, one of the highest distinctions at LSU for exceptional scholarship, service and dedication to the field, university and students. In addition to 41 years of teaching, Voyiadjis has written books including, "Advances in Damage Mechanics: Metals and Metal Matrix Composites with an introduction to Fabric Tensors."

In addition to his project contributions, Voyiadjis has impacted the discipline through developing constitutive models for various materials and structures. He also holds two patents on fenders for pier and bridge protection against vessel collision.

His achievements have earned him honors including ASCE’s 2008 Nathan M. Newmark Medal. Voyiadjis holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, a Master of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology and Doctor of Engineering Science degree, or D.Eng.Sc., from Columbia University.

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For more information, contact Alison Satake, LSU Media Relations, 225-578-3870 or asatake@lsu.edu.