A. J. Durelli Award

A.J. Durelli was one of the most outstanding experimental stress analysts in the world during the second half of twentieth century.Known primarily for his work in brittle lacquer techniques, photoelasticity, and moiré methods, throughout his career, Dr. Durelli consistently sought out new methods to solve problems rather than to solve new problems with existing methods. He often challenged his students and colleagues to view the world from a different perspective, and bestowed on our Society some of its greatest gifts – productive, caring, and competent people.

The purpose of this award is to recognize a young professional who has introduced, or helped to introduce, an innovative approach and/or method into the field of experimental mechanics. The individual’s contribution shall be distinguished in that it departs from the norm and/or challenges the existing train of thought in the Society.

The award in question is designed to recognize a relatively young individual for distinguished, innovative work in experimental mechanics; one of the qualities that A.J. recognized and instilled so well in others.

(1) The recipient should be recognized for a contribution early in their career. 

(2) S/he must have introduced, or helped to introduce, an innovative approach and/or method into the field of experimental mechanics. Any area qualifies.

(3) The individual’s contribution shall be distinguished in that it departs from the norm and/or challenges the existing train of thought in the Society.

(4) The recipient should be a member of SEM but need not have held any prior leadership position in the Society. 

Initially, this award was intended to be presented every two years.  In 2009 the Honors Committee recommended that this award be presented annually and this change was approved by the Executive board in June 2009.

George H. James, III received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1989 with a concentration in Structural Dynamics and Controls.  Prior to his doctorate, he worked as a graduate student researcher at the Air Force Astronautics Laboratory, obtained an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A& M (in Mechanics and Materials), and acquired a B.S. in Physics from Angelo State University. 

Since his Ph.D., Dr. James performed Structural Health Monitoring post-doctoral research with the University of Houston in Mechanical Engineering and NASA Johnson Space Center.  Additionally, he has earned an M.S. in Physical Science with a focus on Planetary Science.  He has worked in the Experimental Structural Dynamics Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA and in the Structural Engineering Division at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas USA.  He has performed professional work or research in modal testing, non-contact measurements, structural health monitoring, model correlation, high-temperature materials characterization, force reconstruction, and mass properties estimation as well as landing site and planetary resource optimization. 

While at Sandia National Laboratories, Dr. James and his colleagues developed the Natural Excitation Technique (NExT) to extract structural dynamics information from structures undergoing excitations from the natural environment.  NExT was developed for wind turbines but was applied to a variety of operational structures.  He is currently the Technical Manager for Space Shuttle Structural Dynamics and Loads as well as the NASA Loads Lead for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. 

Dr. James has produced seven refereed publications, eight major reports, and over 80 conference publications.