John Argyris
Encyclopedia
John Hadji Argyris was among the creators of the Finite Element Method
Finite element method
The finite element method is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions of partial differential equations as well as integral equations...

 (FEM) and lately Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 at the University of Stuttgart
University of Stuttgart
The University of Stuttgart is a university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized in 10 faculties....

 and Director of the Institute for Statics and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures. His uncle, Constantin Carathéodory
Constantin Carathéodory
Constantin Carathéodory was a Greek mathematician. He made significant contributions to the theory of functions of a real variable, the calculus of variations, and measure theory...

, was a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

 of the Modern Era.

Curriculum

He was born in Volos, Greece but the family moved to Athens where he was educated in the Classical Gymnasium.

He studied civil engineering
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 works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 for four years in the National Technical University of Athens
National Technical University of Athens
The National Technical University of Athens , sometimes simply known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions of Greece....

 and then in the Technical University Munich, receiving his Engineering Diploma in 1936. His first job was at the Gollnow company in Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....

, where he was involved among other things in high radio transmitter masts. He was imprisoned by the Nazis for some time but with the help of Admiral Canaris he escaped to Switzerland where he continued his studies in ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....

. In 1943, he joined the research department of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...

 in England. Starting from 1949 he was lecturer in aeronautical engineering at the Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...

 of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

, where he assumed a chair in 1955.

In 1959, Argyris was appointed a professor at the Technical University of Stuttgart (today University of Stuttgart) and director of the Institute for Statics and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures. He created the Aeronautical and Astronautical Campus of the University of Stuttgart as focal point for applications of digital computers and electronics.

He died in Stuttgart and is buried in the Sankt Jörgens Cemetery in the city of Varberg, Sweden.

Scientific work

Argyris was involved in and developed to a large extent the Finite Element Method along with Ray W. Clough
Ray W. Clough
Ray William Clough, , was Byron L. and Elvira E. Nishkian Professor of Structural Engineering in the department of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and one the founders of the Finite Element Method . His article in 1956 was one of the first applications of this...

 and Olgierd Zienkiewicz
Olgierd Zienkiewicz
Olgierd Cecil Zienkiewicz, CBE, FREng, FRS was a British academic, mathematician, and civil engineer. He was born in Caterham, England. He was one of the early pioneers of the finite element method...

 after an early mathematical pre-working of Richard Courant
Richard Courant
Richard Courant was a German American mathematician.- Life :Courant was born in Lublinitz in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia. During his youth, his parents had to move quite often, to Glatz, Breslau, and in 1905 to Berlin. He stayed in Breslau and entered the university there...

.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March 1986.

External links

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