In Memoriam: Professor Dusan Krajcinovic

Dusan Krajcinovic received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Belgrade (1958, 1966) and his PhD in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University in 1968, working with Prof. George Hermann.

Dusan’s brilliant and successful career focused on mechanics of materials, and structural analysis and design. He worked at Ingersoll Rand Research Inc. (1969) and Argonne National Laboratory (1973), before becoming Professor of Civil Engineering at University of Illinois, Chicago, IL (1973-1989) and then Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU), until retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2004.

He pursued and inspired research with the discipline and passion typical of a professional athlete (when a youth, was a soccer player in Yugoslavia). A prolific writer, he co-authored over 200 publications, and published a book on damage mechanics, which is a comprehensive reference on the subject of continuum and discrete theories of damage mechanics (with over 700 pages).

As an educator, Dusan organized short courses and symposia in damage mechanics worldwide, and received a number of awards, including the October Prize for Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science (Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1990), the Gold Medal for achievements in Science and Technology (Crete, 1999), and Laurea Honoris Causa (Milan Italy, 2001).

Dusan was involved with professional societies, such as ASME (Fellow and Chair of AMD Executive Committee 2001-2002), American Academy of Mechanics (Fellow and President 1999-2001), Stability Research Council, International Association for Structural Engineering in Reactor Technology, and ASCE (non-member advisor of the Committee for Inelastic Behavior of Materials). Dusan was on the editorial boards of Applied Mechanics Reviews and Mechanics of Materials, and was one of the chief editors of the International Journal of Damage Mechanics.

Dusan was an intellectual and a true gentleman who cultivated life-long friendships and remained committed to humanitarian causes. His multifaceted career reflects his remarkable personality, ability, and versatility, including both professional and academic achievements.

Dusan passed away on Friday, August 10, 2007 after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Tanya and his daughters, Ivana and Maya, whose encouragement, understanding and patience Dusan had always acknowledged.

Sia Nemat-Nasser, University of California, San Diego
George Z. Voyiadjis, Louisiana State University
Antonio Rinaldi, University "Tor Vergata"

See also Remembering Dusan Krajcinovic, a speech (with a collection of photos) presented by Sia Nemat-Nasser

For a complete description of Dusan Krajcinovic’s intellectual contributions, see the special volume of International Journal of Plasticity dedicated to him.