Gustavo Colonnetti (8 November 1886 – 20 March 1968) was an Italian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

who made important contributions to

continuum mechanics Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuous mass rather than as discrete particles. The French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy was the first to formulate such ...

and

strength of materials The field of strength of materials, also called mechanics of materials, typically refers to various methods of calculating the stresses and strains in structural members, such as beams, columns, and shafts. The methods employed to predict the re ...

. He was a Rector of the

Politecnico di Torino The Polytechnic University of Turin ( it, Politecnico di Torino) is the oldest Italian Public university, public Institute of technology, technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urba ...

and President of CNR (

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche The National Research Council (Italian: ''Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR'') is the largest research council in Italy. As a public organisation, its remit is to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome ...

). His theories found important applications in modern techniques of construction, such as pre-stressed concrete. He is remembered for Colonnetti's theorem (or Colonnetti's minimum principle) which states that in equilibrium the potential energy function is minimized.

Life

Honors

He was nominated member of the

Pontificial Academy of Sciences The Pontifical Academy of Sciences ( it, Pontificia accademia delle scienze, la, Pontificia Academia Scientiarum) is a scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the progress of the math ...

on October 28, 1936. In 1947, during the first meeting of the RILEM in

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

, he was elected first president of the society, and began its mandate in 1948. The same year, on the 27th of August 1947, he was elected corresponding member of the

Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...

: nearly a year later, on the 15th of July 1948, he was elected full member.According to the 2012 yearbook, p. 438, of the Accademia dei Lincei.

Work

Research activity

Teaching activity

Selected publications

*. *. *

Notes

References

Biographical references

*. The "''Yearbook''" of the renowned Italian scientific institution, including an historical sketch of its history, the list of all past and present members as well as a wealth of information about its academic and scientific activities. *. *. The text of the address of Gaetano Fichera given on the occasion of the conferment of the laurea honoris causa in

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 ...

: he describes the history of the theory of elasticity detailing particularly the contributions of Italian scientists. *. A work dealing with the contributions of Gustavo Colonnetti and Arturo Danusso to the development of Italian engineering science, presented at the Second National Conference on the History of Engineering, organized by the Associazione Italiana di Storia dell'Ingegneria (A.I.S.I.), the Italian Association for the History of Engineering, and held in Napoli on April 7–8, 2008. *. *. The biographical entry about Gustavo Colonnetti in the "''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Italians'')" section of the

Enciclopedia Treccani The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' ( Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language ...

. *

References describing his research work

* .

External links

Brief biographyGustavo Colonnetti e le origini dell'ingegneria in Italia, Fausto Giovannardi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonnetti, Gustavo 1886 births 1968 deaths Scientists from Turin Members of the National Council (Italy) Italian civil engineers Mathematical physicists 19th-century Italian mathematicians 20th-century Italian mathematicians Engineers from Turin National Research Council (Italy) people