Jacobo Bielak, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAE
 Jacobo Bielak, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAE is an internationally-known researcher in the area of structural responses to earthquakes, developing sophisticated numerical simulations to pinpoint earthquake effects. He has also been an outstanding advisor and teacher for many graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University over the past 32 years.
Professor Bielak's technical contributions have significantly impacted the practice of seismic engineering since his doctoral thesis on the subject of earthquake response of building-foundation systems at the California Institute of Technology in 1971. The formulas he developed in this work to account for soil-structure interaction are the basis for those adopted in current seismic design codes, including the 2010 version of ASCE/SEI 7.
His cutting-edge research for the National Science Foundation in the propagation of seismic waves has continuously progressed and has led to more realistic modeling of earthquake ground motion in large basins. In fact, this work constitutes the most advanced numerical technique available to study the complex mechanisms of seismic ground motion.
Professor Bielak's work has been singled out for several computing awards, including the Gordon Bell Prize, ACM/IEEE SCO6 HPC Analytics Challenge Award, and the Allen Newell Award for Excellence in Research from the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2010, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for advancing knowledge and methods in earthquake engineering and in regional-scale seismic motion simulation.
Professor Bielak has been actively engaged in ASCE committees, seismology societie,s and the National Science Foundation's Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), which links 15 university laboratories in cooperative, real-time studies of the seismic performance of large structures. He also has been an active member of a number of editorial boards, such as the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Engineering.
Chandrakant S. Desai, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE
 Chandrakant S. Desai, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE is internationally renowned in the field of experimental and computational geomechanics. He was one of the first persons to introduce and popularize the use of finite elements to solve geotechnical problems, developing nonlinear constitutive models that would reproduce better the actual soil behavior, and developing new, more powerful, formulations consistent with the new computational capabilities. Dr. Desai is an innovative and visionary leader in research, and, according to the Science Citation Index, he is among the most highly cited civil engineers and geomechanics researchers in the world. His current research addresses such widely varying problems as pile-soil interaction, cavern stability, and extensions of the disturbed state approach to constitutive modeling.
Dr. Desai co-authored, with John Abel, one of the earliest finite element textbooks, Introduction to the Finite Element Method. It was so innovative that colleagues in other than civil engineering departments used the book to extend the techniques to their own pursuits. This book was followed by several other textbooks on the finite element methods and contributions to texts on geomechanics. Through these publications, chapters in books edited by others and archival journal articles, he has created a serious body of work benefitting geomechanics.
To further the field of geomechanics, Dr. Desai founded the International Association for Computational Methods in Geomechanics in 1991. His professional accomplishments include his long tenure as Chief Editor of the International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. He is solely responsible for the existence of this archival Journal, which was the only such publication devoted exclusively to numerical and analytical methods in geomechanics. Subsequently, he undertook the arduous task of Editor-in-Chief of ASCE's International Journal of Geomechanics. These efforts have advanced and defined the discipline of geomechanics at an academic level over a long period of time, bringing their advantages to the attention of practicing engineers.
Dr. Desai is an outstanding teacher at all levels. In addition to the many graduate students he has advised, he has been active participating in and promoting special mentoring programs for undergraduates as well as high school students. He has received a number of awards for his dedication to and excellence in teaching, but perhaps more importantly his students have gone on to be highly successful contributors in both the public and private sectors. Of particular note are the large number of Ph.D. students he has advised who have gone on to teaching positions worldwide and who are important university professors of the new generation of academics.
In recognition of his contributions to the discipline of geomechanics, Dr. Desai has been awarded the prestigious Karl Terzaghi Award and Nathan M. Newmark Medal by ASCE and the Alexander Von Humboldt Prize by the German Government. He maintains membership in 15 professional organizations, and was elected a Fellow in ASCE and the American Academy of Mechanics.
Shamsher Prakash, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE
 Shamsher Prakash, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE has made seminal contributions to the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering where he is a recognized leader in the area of soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering research. He pioneered the work on liquefactions of fine grained soils (silts and clays) and pile-soil-pile interaction under dynamic loads. He introduced the concept of displacement based design of rigid retaining walls and abutments under earthquake conditions. Additionally, Professor Prakash revolutionized the use of geotechnical engineering case histories in practice and education. He is a person with a vision for the future, exhibiting outstanding leadership and philanthropic qualities.
Professor Prakash is recognized as an outstanding educator. He introduced a first-ever course on soil dynamics in 1962 and established the first soil dynamics laboratory in India. He
has always been generous in offering his time in service to the profession. He has been an
excellent mentor to a multitude of students, helping to promote their careers. Through his
foundation, he established the Shamsher Prakash Research Award in Geotechnical Engineering,
which has been awarded annually since 1990 to an outstanding young geotechnical researcher,
typically from academia. The Shamsher Prakash Prize for Excellence in the Practice of
Geotechnical Engineering, also funded through his foundation, has been given annually since
1999.
Widely published, Professor Prakash's books, reports and publications in technical
journals have profoundly influenced engineering education and engineering practice. Of equal
importance has been the multitude of short courses on the dynamic response of structures and
foundations he has organized nationally over the years. His standing in the world is evidenced
by the large number of invited lectures he has offered, by the number of international
conferences he has organized and chaired, and by the recognitions he has received from
institutions in India and Romania.
Professor Prakash has made an incomparable contribution to the geotechnical engineering
case study knowledge base through his conceptualization, development and leadership of six
International Conferences on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. These conferences
have attracted an international "who's who" of the geotechnical engineering profession and the
proceedings of the conferences provide perhaps the single greatest compilation ever of
geotechnical engineering case studies.
|
