August J. Durelli (30 April 1910 – 18 March 2000) was an Argentine-American engineer. He was a professor at the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

and the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

Education

Durelli received a degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1932 from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

. In 1936 he received two doctoral degree, one from the Sorbonne School of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and one in

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s from the

Catholic University of Paris The Institut catholique de Paris (, abbr. ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in Latin as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a private university located in Paris, France. History: 1875–present The Institut ...

Research and career

Upon graduation in 1936 he returned to Buenos Aires but was soon moved to the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in the group of William M. Murray as a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and then to the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal as a Visiting Professor. In 1944 he returned to Buenos Aires, during a period of great unrest, where he became the Head of the Laboratory of Testing Materials of the Municipality of Buenos Aires but was fired from his job and jailed due to his deep democratic ideals. In 1946 he left Buenos Aires for good, joining the

where he became the Head of the Stress Analysis Section and in 1956 he became a Professor of the Civil Engineering Department. In 1961 he moved to the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he stayed until his retirement in 1975. In retirement he became visiting professor at the University of Oakland in Michigan as the John F. Dodge Professor of Engineering and the University of Maryland. A.J. Durelli was an outstanding experimental stress analysts known for his work in brittle lacquer techniques,

photoelasticity In materials science, photoelasticity describes changes in the optical properties of a material under mechanical deformation. It is a property of all dielectric media and is often used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a ...

, and moiré methods. As his time at MIT was in the group of Bill Murray who would go on to be the first President of the Society for Experimental Stress Analysis (SESA) (later the

Society for Experimental Mechanics Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) is a professional organization for engineers and scientists studying the design and implementation of experiments to characterize materials, structures, and systems. Formed in 1943 as the Society for Experim ...

(SEM)) it is not surprising that Durelli went on to be one of the forming members of that society. Durelli gave the SESA Murray Lecture in 1965 and was named the eighth Honorary Member of the Society in 1972, a position held until his death in 2000. When SESA introduced the rank of Fellow, Durelli was among the first class of SESA Fellows in 1975 along with the seven other living Honorary Members of the society. The

initiated the A.J. Durelli Award in his honor in 2004 to recognize a young professional who has introduced an innovative approach or method in

experimental mechanics ''Experimental Mechanics'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all areas of experimental mechanics. It is an official journal of the Society for Experimental Mechanics and was established in 1961, being published monthly. From 1983 to 20 ...

. While initially a biennial award, since 2009 the A.J. Durelli Award has been given annually.

Family life

August was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. August married Marie Marte (nee Barie) in 1943. They had three children Anna Maria, Monique and Andrew. August was a regular communicant in the Roman Catholic Church and belonged to The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, DC.

Awards and recognition

SEM SEM or Sem can refer to: Computing * Search engine marketing, promoting websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results * Security event manager, a security log tool used on data networks Economics and management * Stock Ex ...

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American bicycle manufacturer * Murray Motor Car Company, an American car manufacturer * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trus ...

Lecture and Award (1965) *

Honorary Member (1972 to 2000) * SEM Fellow (1975) *

Lazan Award (1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durelli, August American engineers University of Paris alumni Budapest University of Technology and Economics alumni Illinois Institute of Technology faculty Catholic University of America faculty Fellows of the Society for Experimental Mechanics 1910 births 2000 deaths Argentine emigrants to the United States Argentine expatriates in France University of Buenos Aires alumni