AME Seminar - Laufer Lecture

Speaker: Thomas J.R. Hughes, University of Texas at Austin

Talk Title: The Finite Element Method and Isogeometric Analysis: Past, Present, Future

Abstract: I will begin by probing into the past to discover the origins of the Finite Element Method (FEM), and then trace the evolution of those early developments to the present day in which the FEM is ubiquitous in science, engineering, mathematics, and medicine, and the most important discretization technology in Computational Mechanics. However, despite its enormous success, there are still problems with contemporary technology, for example, building meshes from Computer Aided Design (CAD) representations is labor intensive, and a significant bottleneck in the design-through-analysis process; the introduction of geometry errors in computational models that arise due to feature removal, geometry clean-up and CAD “healing,” necessary to facilitate mesh generation; the inability of contemporary technology to “close the loop” with design optimization; and the failure of higher-order finite elements to achieve their full promise in industrial applications. These issues are addressed by Isogeometric Analysis (IGA), the vision of which was first presented in a paper published October 1, 2005 [1]. Since then, IGA has become a focus of research within both FEM and CAD and is now a mainstream analysis methodology that has provided a new paradigm for computational model development [2-4]. The key concept utilized in the technical approach is the development of a new foundation for FEA, based on rich geometric descriptions originating in CAD, more tightly integrating design and analysis. Industrial applications and commercial software developments have expanded recently. I will briefly present the motivation leading to IGA, its status, recent progress, areas of current activity, and what it offers for analysis model development and the design-through-analysis process. I will also argue that IGA provides an alternative and more robust approach to higher-order finite element analysis, filling the gap between low-order, geometrically versatile approaches and high-order, geometrically restrictive spectral methods. Finally, I will speculate on the future, the technologies that will prevail, computer developments, and the role of machine learning. [1] T.J.R. Hughes, J.A. Cottrell and Y. Bazilevs, “Isogeometric Analysis: CAD, Finite Elements, NURBS, Exact Geometry and Mesh Refinement,” Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 194, (2005) 4135-4195. [2] J.A. Cottrell, T.J.R. Hughes and Y. Bazilevs, “Isogeometric Analysis: Toward Integration of CAD and FEA,” Wiley, Chichester, U.K., 2009. [3] Special Issue on Isogeometric Analysis, (eds. T.J.R. Hughes, J.T. Oden and M. Papadrakakis), Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 284, 1-1182, (1 February 2015). [4] Special Issue on Isogeometric Analysis: Progress and Challenges, (eds. T.J.R. Hughes, J.T. Oden and M. Papadrakakis), Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 316, 1-1270, (1 April 2017).

Biography: Thomas J.R. Hughes holds B.E. and M.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Pratt Institute and an M.S. in Mathematics and Ph.D. in Engineering Science from the University of California at Berkeley. He taught at Berkeley, Caltech, and Stanford before joining the University of Texas at Austin. At Stanford he served as Chairman of the Division of Applied Mechanics, Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chairman of the Division of Mechanics and Computation, and held the Crary Chair of Engineering. Dr. Hughes is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of London, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Section for Mathematics and the Physical Sciences), the Istituto Lombardo Accademia di Scienze e Lettere (Mathematics Section), and the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas. Dr. Hughes is a Fellow of the AAAS, AIAA, ASCE, ASME, the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM), the International Association for Computational Mechanics (IACM), the American Academy of Mechanics (AAM), the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), and the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE. Dr. Hughes is a Founder and past President of USACM and IACM, past Chairman of the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME, past Chairman of the US National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and co-editor emeritus of the international journal, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering. He is an Honorary Member of the Japanese Association for Computational Mechanics (JACM). Dr. Hughes is one of the most widely cited authors in Engineering Science. He has been elected to Distinguished Member, ASCE’s highest honor, and has received ASME’s highest honor, the ASME Medal. He has also been awarded the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize and von Karman Medal from ASCE, the Timoshenko, Worcester Reed Warner, and Melville Medals from ASME, the von Neumann Medal from USACM, the Gauss-Newton Medal from IACM, the Computational Mechanics Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), the Grand Prize from the Japan Society of Computational Engineering and Science (JSCES), the Computational Mechanics Award from JACM, the Humboldt Research Award for Senior Scientists from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Wilhem Exner Medal from the Austrian Association für SME (Öesterreichischer Gewerbeverein, OGV), the International Scientific Career Award from the Argentinian Association for Computational Mechanics (AMCA), the SIAM/ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Prize in Computational Science and Engineering, the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) Distinguished Scientist Award, the O.C. Zienkiewicz Medal from the Polish Association for Computational Mechanics (PACM), the A.C. Eringen Medal from the Society for Engineering Science (SES), the Ralph E. Kleinman Prize from SIAM, the Monie A. Ferst Award of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, and the William Benter Prize in Applied Mathematics from the Liu Bie Ju Centre for Mathematical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong.

Host: AME Department

More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94634476349?pwd=5I3aFQUoV4sLjbxKf6PhwhBbyDFcjZ.1

Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) - 350

WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/94634476349?pwd=5I3aFQUoV4sLjbxKf6PhwhBbyDFcjZ.1

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Tessa Yao

Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/