Ray William Clough, (July 23, 1920 – October 8, 2016), was Byron L. and Elvira E. Nishkian Professor of

structural engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

in the department of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and one of the founders of the

finite element method The finite element method (FEM) is a popular method for numerically solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modeling. Typical problem areas of interest include the traditional fields of structural analysis, heat ...

(FEM). His article in 1956 was one of the first applications of this computational method. He coined the term “finite elements” in an article in 1960. He was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. In the Fall, 2008 Clough was recognized as a “Legend of Earthquake Engineering” at the World Conference of Earthquake Engineering in China. Clough was known for his work in the field of earthquake engineering, and credited with the development and application of a mathematical method, finite element analysis, that has revolutionized numerical modeling of the physical world. Dr. Clough extended the method to enable dynamic analysis of complex structures and co-authored the definitive text on

structural dynamics Structural dynamics is a type of structural analysis which covers the behavior of a structure subjected to dynamic (actions having high acceleration) loading. Dynamic loads include people, wind, waves, traffic, earthquakes, and blasts. Any structur ...

. Three decades later, this text is still in wide use. He also transformed the field through the development of fundamental theories, computational techniques, and experimental methods. During his almost 40 years at Berkeley he taught, advised, and mentored numerous students. Clough was

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He is credited with developing the Earthquake Engineering Research Center at Berkeley, a hub for analytical engineering research, information resources, and public service programs. Dr. Clough's many honors include the Prince Philip Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering in London. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

, the Royal Norwegian Scientists Society, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He was awarded A. Cemal Eringen

Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

in 1992. In 1994,

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

presented Clough with a

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

and in 2006 he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering from

The Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

. He died on October 8, 2016, aged 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clough, Ray W. 1920 births 2016 deaths American structural engineers National Medal of Science laureates Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering University of California, Berkeley alumni