National Academy of Engineering tribute to Professor Kaspar J. Willam, presented at FraMCoS-12.
Submitted to the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for publication in the volume of Tributes KASPAR J. WILLAM December 20, 1940 – January 7, 2024 Elected to NAE in 2004 1 1 2 3 Josef Eberhardsteiner , Herbert A. Mang , Ekkehard Ramm , Stein Sture , 3 4 5 6 Yunping Xi , Ignacio Carol , Roberto Ballarini and Zdeněk P. Bažant 1 1 3 Vienna University of Technology, Stuttgart University of Technology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 4 5 6 Polytechnic University of Catalunya, Barcelona, University of Houston and Northwestern University, Evanston Kaspar Jodokus Willam, an eminent professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, passed away on January 7, 2024, in Bezau, Austria. Renowned for his seminal contributions to computational mechanics, failure analysis of structures, and constitutive modeling of brittle and quasibrittle materials, with special emphasis on concrete, he was an intellectual spearhead in the wide area of structural engineering. His work significantly advanced the quality of predictive modeling of material behavior and structural failure. His theoretical and computational advancements in the area of finite element analysis had a great impact on engineering applications globally, shaping modern approaches to material and structural integrity assessment. Kaspar was born in Vienna, Austria, on December 20, 1940. During World War II his family moved to Bezau, in the westernmost part of Austria. Kaspar Willam’s formative years were deeply intertwined with the rigorous traditional education of his homeland. He grew up in an environment that attached great significance to school education as the basis for successful academic studies with emphasis on the sciences. Kaspar studied civil engineering at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), where he obtained in 1964 the degree of Dipl.-Ing., comparable to an M.S. degree.