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Memorial Tributes Volume 8 (1996) / Chapter Skim
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Paul M. Nagdhi
Pages 154-159

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From page 155...
... Paul was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1984 in recognition of his "pioneering contributions to research in continuum mechanics, especially in the areas of shell theory and inelastic behavior of materials." His research encompassed nearly all areas of the mechanical behavior of solids and fluids. He was strongly attracted by fundamental theoretical questions, which he strived to treat at the highest possible level of generality.
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From page 156...
... Subsequently Paul cleveloped and refined basic equations for small deformations of thin elastic shells, an effort that culminated in the 1963 publication of a major research article entitled "Foundations of Elastic Shell Theory." During this same period, he and his coworkers also solved a number of static and dynamic shell problems of engineering interest. Continued research on the large deformations of elastic shells led Paul to formulate a strictly two-dimensional nonlinear theory of shells called the Cosserat Surface theory (after the French brothers who originated this idea early in the twentieth century)
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From page 157...
... His comprehensive lecture courses in many areas of the mechanics of continuous media enabled a large number of engineers to gain a fundamental understanding of this subject, at both the graduate and the undergraduate level. These lectures inspired many students to begin research under Paul's guidance and follow productive careers in applied mechanics.
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From page 158...
... Paul received the Eringen Medal of the Society of Engineering Science in 1986. He held honorary doctoral degrees from the National University of Ireland ~1987)
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