P. S. Theocaris

P. S. Theocaris was a legendary figure in the mechanics community in Greece. He also was one of the most outstanding experimental stress analysts in the world during the second half of the twentieth century. He was member of the Academy of Athens, the most prestigious distinction of professionals in Greece. He also served as corresponding or, foreign member to other Academies in Europe. He was the recipient of many awards and distinctions. He was elected as SEM Fellow in 1979. As an experimentalist, he is known primarily for his work in moiré, photoelasticity and caustics.

The award in question is designed to recognize a senior individual for distinguished, innovative and outstanding work in optical methods and experimental mechanics.

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For pioneering work in experimental and imaging techniques to identify mechanisms of deformation and failure in materials and structures across multiple length and time scales.

Horacio D. Espinosa
Professor Espinosa received his PhD in Solid Mechanics in 1992, from Brown University. He started his academic career as Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, where he was promoted to Associated Professor with tenure in 1998. Since 2000, he has been on the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University, has held the James and Nancy Farley Professorship since 2009, has served as Director of the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics program since 2007, and Director of the Institute for Cellular Engineering Technologies. Espinosa has made significant contributions in the areas of deformation and failure of materials, from mesoscale dynamic failure of ceramics and composites to the mechanisms responsible for the hardness and toughness of biomaterials to size scale effects in elasticity and plasticity of thin films and low dimensional materials.