Troy, N.Y. — Jacob Fish, the Rosalind and John J. Redfern Chaired Professor of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and director of the university’s Multiscale Science and Engineering Center, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics (AAM).

“Professor Fish has been at the forefront of his field for nearly 20 years, and this great honor is certainly an important recognition of his diligence and hard work,” said Rensselaer Provost Robert Palazzo. “His research in multiscale computational engineering has been critical for bridging the gap between modeling, simulation, and design of aircraft, large mechanical systems, and other involved systems facing deep, complex computational challenges.” 

The AAM will honor Fish in June at the group’s Summer Conference in New Orleans.

Fish’s research encompasses a wide variety of science and engineering disciplines, from investigating the structural integrity of mechanical, aerospace, and civil systems, to electronic packaging, nanostructured material systems, biological systems, and energy absorption systems. Fish is considered a pioneer in multiscale computation, and for emphasizing in his research how nature is replete with systems that encompass interacting behaviors occurring across a range of spatial and temporal scales. His most recent research interests involve mathematical homogenization of discrete media, as well as discrete enrichment schemes and space-time multilevel methods for molecular dynamics simulations. 

Fish earned his master’s degree in structural mechanics from the Israel Institute of Technology, and his doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics from Northwestern University. Prior to joining the Rensselaer faculty in 1989, he worked as a structural and mechanical engineer in Israel. Fish became a full professor in 1998, and in 2005 was named the Rosalind and John J. Redfern Jr. ’33 Chaired Professor in Engineering. The following year he was appointed director of Rensselaer’s Multiscale Science and Engineering Center. 

A prolific author, Fish has written more than 140 journal articles and book chapters. He is a past president of United States Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM), founder and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Multiscale Computational Engineering, as well as associate editor of the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering. He also sits on the editorial board of Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering and International Journal of Computational Engineering Science.

Fish’s new book, A First Course in Finite Elements, was released this summer to wide acclaim. The book has been integrated into curriculums at universities across the globe, and is currently being translated into Japanese and Portuguese.

In 2005 Fish received the USACM Computational Structural Mechanics Award, “in recognition for his contributions to multiscale computational methods.” For his “significant contributions to computational science and engineering” he received the 2003 Rensselaer School of Engineering Research Award. He is also a fellow of the International Association for Computational Mechanics and the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics.

For more information on Rensselaer’s Multiscale Science and Engineering Center, visit: http://msec.rpi.edu.