ASCE United Kingdom Group President Carlos A. Brebbia, recognized for advancements in the boundary element method of engineering calculations, has died at 79.
Brebbia, Ph.D., F.ASCE, founded the Wessex Institute of Technology in Southampton, England, to engage in research and promotion of the boundary method technique that he developed in 1977-78. He enabled WIT to link with major academic institutions worldwide, including a U.S. office in Boston.
After earning his first engineering degree in his native Argentina, Brebbia pursued his doctorate at the University of Southampton and carried out research partly at MIT, setting up a long and close association with the United States. After a brief turn at a British research laboratory, Brebbia returned to the University of Southampton to teach. He decided against a full professorship at the University of California, Irvine, to set up WIT.
Brebbia also founded Computational Mechanics International Ltd. in 1976, which is now active in software development, engineering consultancy, property investment, and publishing.
Brebbia wrote many papers, authored 14 books, and co-authored or edited numerous volumes. He founded several successful international journals, including the new International Journal of Environmental Impacts. He established the Prigogine Medal for Ecological Systems Research, co-sponsored by the University of Siena.
In addition to his ASCE role and Fellow status, Brebbia’s honors included the Medaille de la Ville de Paris, Echelon Argent; Medaille of the Masonnet Foundation, University of Liege, Belgium; and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK.
