January 13, 2015
Neuron, a non-profit dedicated to supporting Czech scientists, has awarded ASE/EM professor and ICES researcher Ivo Babuska its 2014 prize in mathematics for his contributions to the field of computational mechanics made in the Czech Republic and abroad.
“Professor Babuska is undoubtedly one of the founders of the field [of computational mechanics]. For his ability to see ahead, to determine the direction of further development and see the importance of connecting different areas, he is quite [an] exceptional figure,” said Zdenek Strakos, a professor of mathematics at the Charles University in Prague and a member of Neuron’s scientific board.
Babuska was born in the Czech republic in 1926 and was in charge of mathematically modeling the Orlík Dam, the Czech Republic’s largest hydroelectric dam, in the 1950s. Babuska's mathematical expertise and insight made the sound construction of the massive concrete structure possible.
“Even then he formulated the basic principles of reliability of mathematical modeling and implementation of numerical calculations on computers that are still valid today,” said Strakos, describing the lasting significance of Babuska’s mathematical contributions.
