George Dvorak ’69 PhD

George Dvorak ’69 PhD, of Menands, N.Y., Apr. 23. He was the civil engineering department chair at the University of Utah when he was recruited to be the department chair of civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1984, from which he retired in 2008. He had also served as research/visiting professor at UConn and the University of North Texas. He held many leadership roles, including president of the Society of Engineering Science, and he received numerous awards, including the 1992 ASME Nadai Medal for pioneering research in the mechanics of modern materials; the 1994 SES Prager Medal for outstanding contributions to the mechanics of solids; a 1995 election to the National Academy of Engineering; a 1995 Fulbright fellowship from the Technical University of Denmark; a 1997 doctor honoris causa from the Czech Technical University in Prague; the 1999 Brown Engineering Alumni Medal; and the 2002 ASME Daniel C. Drucker Medal for research achievements in plasticity, material fracture and fatigue, and thermo-mechanics of heterogeneous materials. A special issue of the International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 40, No. 25, was published in his honor in 2003. He is survived by a son, a sister and brother-in-law, a niece, and a nephew.