Thomas J.R. Hughes of the University of Texas at Austin.
Thomas J.R. Hughes was awarded the 2017 SIAM/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering on March 2 at the
2017 SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE17) in Atlanta, Ga.
Hughes is the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Chair in Computational and Applied Mathematics and a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.
The prize honors Hughes for his pioneering work on finite element methods for partial differential equations. His work is used worldwide in engineering design and simulation, and has impacted every field of science that uses finite element methods. Hughes has also made pioneering contributions to the seamless integration of modeling methodologies with design representations. He has created entirely new fields of research, including stabilized methods, variational multiscale methods, and isogeometric analysis, and continues to lead their development.
“Almost my entire research career has been devoted to the development of computational methods used in engineering and science, so the SIAM/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering, which is the major distinction in the field, represents in many ways the culmination of my life’s work,” Hughes said. “It means a great deal to me to be selected by my peers from among numerous outstanding candidates. I am truly honored and humbled to receive this award.”