ECCOMAS AWARD FOR THE BEST Ph.D THESES OF 2015 ON COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN APPLIED SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING

The meeting of the Evaluation Committee for the ECCOMAS award for the best PhD theses 2015 was held on April 1st, 2016 at CIMNE, Barcelona. As an answer to the call for tender, the ECCOMAS member associations nominated 17 theses. The Evaluation Committee was composed by Nils-Erik Wiberg (chairman), Claudia Comi, Harald Van Brummelen, Stefan Vandewalle and Pedro Díez (secretary).

After a detailed discussion, a voting process was held in two phases. First, after a secret voting the number of theses was reduced from 17 to 7. In a second round, the number was reduced to 2 theses that were ranked well above the rest. Then the committee discussed the merits of these 2 theses, evaluating the different aspects of each and unanimously agreed on selecting them as the two winners.

The two winners are:

  • Dr. Ursula Rasthofer (Germany) for the thesis “Computational Multiscale Methods for Turbulent Single and Two-Phase Flows 
  • Dr. Federico Negri (Switzerland) for the thesis “Efficient Reduction Techniques for the Simulation and Optimization of Parametrized Systems: Analysis and Applications 

These theses are outstanding works in Computational Methods combining excellent knowledge of both theory and practice, with special insight in the implementation and computational aspects. The award decision was based on the originality of the theses, their scientific content and the innovative numerical developments. Moreover, both theses are very well written and meticulously presented.

All nominees will be recognized by a special diploma that will be sent directly to the candidate. 

The list of finalists selected by the local-regional ECCOMAS Association is the following:

Author Title of the Thesis Association Country
Ricardo Jorge Fonseca Birjukovs Canelas Numerical Modeling of Fully Coupled Solid-fluid Flows APMTAC Portugal
Emmanuel Tromme Structural Optimization of Flexible Components within a Multibody Dynamics Approach BNCTAM Belgium
Mijo Nikolić Rock Mechanics, Failure Phenomena with Pre-existing Cracks and Internal Fluid Flow through Cracks CEACM Croatia
Liang Xia Towards Optimal Design of Multiscale Nonlinear Structures Reduced-Order Modeling Approaches CSMA France
Svetlana Matculevich Fully Reliable A Posteriori Error Control for Evolutionary Problems FMS Finland
Ursula Rasthofer Computational Multiscale Methods for Turbulent Single and Two-Phase Flows GACM Germany
Benjamin Marussig Seamless Integration of Design and Analysis through Boundary Integral Equations GAMM Germany
Olivier Zahm Model Reduction Methods for Parametric Equations – Applications to the Quantification of Uncertainty GAMNI France
Walter Boscheri High Order Direct Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) Finite Volume Schemes for Hyperbolic Systems on Unstructured Meshes GIMC-AIMETA Italy
Georgios G. Vogiatzis Multiscale Simulations of Polymer- Matrix Nanocomposites GRACM Greece
Igor Sokolov Non-linear Beam Models for Problems of Interaction IACMM Israel
Wybe Rozema Low-dissipation Methods and Models for the Simulation of Turbulent Subsonic Flow – Theory and Applications NMC Netherlands
Iman Lashgari Stability Analysis and Inertial Regimes in Complex Flows NoACM North Europe
Konrad Perzyński Hybrid RCAFE Model for Fracture Modelling in Multi–phase Materials PACM Poland
David Ruiz Gracia Optimal Design of Piezoelectric Microtransducers SEMA Spain
Héctor Espinoza Wave Propagation Problems with Aeroacoustic Applications SEMNI Spain
Federico Negri Efficient Reduction Techniques for the Simulation and Optimization of Parametrized Systems: Analysis and Applications SWICCOMAS Switzerland