Ares J. Rosakis :: News Releases

By simulating earthquakes in a lab, Caltech engineers have provided strong experimental support for a form of earthquake propagation now thought responsible for the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that devastated the coast of Japan in 2011. "Our novel experimental approach has enabled us to look into the earthquake process up close, and to uncover key features of rupture propagation and friction evolution in rock gouge," says Vito Rubino, research scientist and lead author of the Nature paper. The Nature paper is titled "Intermittent lab earthquakes in dynamically weakening fault gouge." Rubino and his co-authors Nadia Lapusta, Lawrence A. Hanson, Jr., Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Geophysics, and Ares Rosakis, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, show that so-called "stable" or "creeping" faults are not actually immune to major ruptures after all, as previously suspected. [Caltech story] 06.06.22

Contrary to Previous Belief, Strike-Slip Faults Can Generate Large Tsunamis. A new study explains why Palu was slammed by an unusually huge tsunami in 2018. [Caltech story] 05.03.21

Ares Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering is the recipient of the 2020/2021 Horace Mann Medal. The Horace Mann Medal is given annually to a Brown Graduate School alumnus or alumna who has made significant contributions in his or her field, inside or outside of academia. Rosakis is recognized for his research and mentoring skills, as well as being "a champion of societal impact that can be realized through the sciences," says Larry Larson, Sorensen Family Dean of the Brown School of Engineering. [Previous Winners] 05.03.21

Simulating an earthquake on a miniature scale in a laboratory known unofficially as the "seismological wind tunnel," engineers and seismologists have produced the most comprehensive look to date at the complex physics of friction driving destructive thrust-fault earthquakes. "Simulating earthquakes in a lab lets us observe how these brief and violent events grow and evolve by ‘slowing down' their motion through high-speed photography and optics," says Ares Rosakis, the Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering. [Caltech story] 09.03.20

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering has been elected as the Laureate of the Aurel Stodola Lecture and presented with the Aurel Stodola Medal. The Aurel Stodola Lecture Series commemorates the contributions of Professor Aurel Stodola in the early 20th century whose work on applied thermodynamics has guided many engineers and engineering developments worldwide. "Ares Rosakis possesses this unique ability to develop new experimental methods to make extremely fast mechanical processes (such as those occurring during earthquakes) tangible and observable in the laboratory," says Bradley Nelson, Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems and Head of D-MAVT. [Past Awardees] 02.05.20

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, will receive the 2018 Timoshenko Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for his pioneering work on unveiling the mechanics behind earthquakes. "Many of my mentors and scientific Idols have received this award, so I really feel especially honored and humbled to be recognized with them," Professor Rosakis says. [Caltech story] [List of award recipients] 06.12.18

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This year's 396 AAAS fellows have been recognized for their "scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications," according to the AAAS. Professor Rosakis was specifically recognized for his "distinguished contributions in the field of aeronautics and mechanical engineering, particularly for fracture mechanics of materials ranging from thin films to earthquakes." [Caltech story] 11.20.17

Professor Ares Rosakis, and colleagues including Professor Nadia Lapusta and Research Scientist Vito Rubino, are studying the way friction changes along a fault during a seismic event by simulating quakes in a lab. "Our unique facility … allows us for the first time to study friction point-wise and without having to assume that sliding occurs uniformly, as is done in classical friction studies," Rosakis explains. Professor Lapusta adds, "some numerical models of earthquake rupture... have used friction laws with slip-velocity dependence… It is gratifying to see those formulations validated by the spontaneous mini-earthquake ruptures in our study." [Caltech story] 8.30.17

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This honor is given to individual AGU members who have made exceptional scientific contributions and gained prominence in their respective fields of Earth and space sciences. [AGU release] 7.28.17

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been named an honorary fellow of the International Congress on Fracture (ICF) which is the premier international body for promotion of worldwide cooperation among scientists and engineers concerned with the mechanics and mechanisms of fracture, fatigue, and strength of solids. He has also been elected as one of the group's three vice presidents. 7.21.17

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, and colleagues at Caltech and École normale supérieure in Paris have discovered that fast ruptures propagating up toward the earth's surface along a thrust fault can cause one side of a fault to twist away from the other, opening up a gap of up to a few meters that then snaps shut. [Caltech story] 5.1.17

A symposium was organized at Brown University on September 16-17, 2016 to celebrate the technical contributions of Professor Ares Rosakis on the occasion of his 60th birthday. The symposium was chaired by Professors Pradeep Guduru, Huajian Gao, and G. Ravichandran. It brought together distinguished engineers and scientists from multiple disciplines to discussion research frontiers relating to the mechanics of materials across nano to geological time and length scales. [Symposium program] [Photos] 9.29.16

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). His research interests span a wide spectrum of length and time scales and range from the mechanics of earthquake seismology, to the physical processes involved in the catastrophic failure of aerospace materials, to the reliability of micro-electronic and opto-electronic structures and devices. The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. [Caltech story] [List of NAS members]
5.3.16

Ares Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, will receive the Theodore von Kármán Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The medal recognizes distinguished achievement in engineering mechanics. Professor Rosakis is being honored for "discovering several fundamental physical phenomena in dynamic fracture of heterogeneous materials and interfaces at various length and time scales.” [Caltech story] 3.22.16

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been inducted into the Academy of Athens in the class of Natural Sciences for his “exceptional contributions to science, in particular in experimental science, in the mechanics of solids, and in aerospace.” He was indicated as a Corresponding Member of this selective academy - there are only 76 members in his section and class. [Video of event] [Caltech story] 1.12.16

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, is the 2015 recipient of the Sia Nemat-Nasser Medal “for innovative singular theoretical and experimental contributions in dynamic fracture and optical techniques, and their application to rupture faults.” The Sia Nemat-Nasser Medal is awarded by the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) and recognizes an individual for distinguished, innovative, and outstanding work that has realized the impact of experimental mechanics on other scientific and engineering fields through an integrated multidisciplinary research. Professor Rosakis received the award at the 2015 SEM annual conference. 6.22.15

Caltech and Northrop Grumman Corporation have signed a $17.5 million sponsored research agreement for the development of the Space Solar Power Initiative (SSPI). The initiative will develop technologies in three areas: high-efficiency ultralight photovoltaics; ultralight deployable space structures; and phased array and power transmission. "The Space Solar Power Initiative brings together electrical engineers, applied physicists, and aerospace engineers in the type of profound interdisciplinary collaboration that is seamlessly enhanced at a small place like Caltech... We are working on extremely difficult problems that could eventually provide the world with new, and very cost-competitive technology for sustainable energy,” said EAS Chair Ares Rosakis. [Caltech story] 4.28.15

Through three gifts to the EAS Division, investor and philanthropist Foster Stanback and his wife, Coco, aim to help Caltech advance innovation in space exploration, with the attendant benefits of an educated workforce, skilled jobs, and spinoff technologies. "The Stanback gifts contribute vitally to the EAS strategy of attracting the best faculty and students, then giving them the resources, acknowledgement, and support to shine. For space engineering, these gifts will allow us to perpetually fund bold seed projects—many of which will lead to spectacular inventions and technologies,” explains EAS Chair Ares Rosakis. [Caltech story] 1.27.15

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering as well as the Otis Booth Leadership Chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science, has been elected to the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea) in the section of Physics and Engineering Sciences. The Academia Europaea was founded in 1988 and is an organization of eminent, individual scholars from across the continent of Europe. The 3000 members cover a wide range of academic disciplines including the humanities, social, physical and life sciences as well as mathematics, engineering and medicine. In addition to Professor Ares Rosakis, Caltech's Provost Edward Stolper, the Institute's past president David Baltimore, and Professor Alexander Varshavsky are members of the Academy. 11.3.14

What keeps Caltech at the top of the Times Higher Education university rankings? In a series of highly candid and extraordinary interviews with EAS Chair Ares Rosakis, BBE Chair Steven Mayo, and their faculty colleagues, the editor of the Times reports on the Institute. He observes: "While diminutive scale may be a disadvantage for some institutions, for Caltech, it is at the heart of its being, and perhaps the single most important aspect of its extraordinary global success." [Read the full article] [pdf of article] 2.6.14

With a $10 million gift, the Los Angeles–based Otis Booth Foundation has created and endowed the Otis Booth Leadership Chair for the Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) at Caltech. "The first funds from the endowment will support time-sensitive research that is too high risk for most traditional grants," says Chair Ares Rosakis, the inaugural holder of the Booth Leadership Chair. "I am excited to see what inventions and ideas become realities as Dr. Rosakis and his successors at the helm of EAS use this endowment now and far into the future," says Lynn Booth, president of the Otis Booth Foundation, a Caltech trustee, and a prominent Los Angeles philanthropist. [Caltech Release] 7.3.13

The Indian Department of Space / Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has established a fellowship at Caltech in the name of Caltech alumnus Satish Dhawan (Eng '49, PhD '51) who is a pioneer of India's space program. "The ISRO is honoring Dhawan and Caltech with this fellowship, and it is also recognizing the historical connections between engineers and scientists in the United States and India," says Chair Ares Rosakis. "India has a very strong domestically grown space program," explains GALCIT Director G. Ravichandran. "The ISRO is hoping to maintain its momentum by training students in much the same way that Dhawan was trained when he went through GALCIT decades ago." [Caltech Release] 7.30.13

At a recent ceremony held in the Theodore von Kármán Conference room of the Guggenheim Building, École Polytechnique president Yves Demay, Caltech president Jean-Lou Chameau, EAS Chair Ares Rosakis and Professor Patrick Le Tallec of École Polytechnique signed an agreement for a Master's Education Exchange Program in Aeronautics/Space Engineering and Mechanics. The objective of the master’s degree program is to foster the development of a long-term cooperation on basic research topics of interest to the Aerospace and Aeronautical Sciences community between Caltech and École Polytechnique. [Press Release] 4.10.13

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) 2013 P.S. Theocaris Award. This award recognizes a senior professional who is a Fellow of SEM and who has conducted outstanding research throughout his career in the field of experimental mechanics. [Caltech story] 6.27.12

Acting Caltech President Ed Stolper, JPL Director Charles Elachi, Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques recipient Ares Rosakis, and Consul General of France in Los Angeles Axel Cruau

Ares Rosakis has been selected to receive the Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques, which is the Commander grade of the French Republic's Order of Academic Palms. Founded by Napoleon in 1808 to honor educators and scholars, this distinction recognizes eminent personalities who have made significant contributions to the development of French culture, science, and education. It is currently awarded by the Prime Minister of France.

The Order of Academic Palms, was originally created to reward service to French universities and academies. In 1955, Charles de Gaulle broadened the mandate to include researching, teaching, and disseminating knowledge of the French culture around the world. The Order comprises of three grades: Commandeur (Commander — medallion worn on necklet), Officier (Officer — medallion worn on ribbon with rosette on left breast), and Chevalier (Knight — medallion worn on ribbon on left breast). It is one of the world’s oldest orders of chivalry, still in existence, and in distinction the Order of Academic Palms comes right after honors such as the Legion of Honor and the Order of the Liberation. Past recipients of the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques include classical greek scholar Jacqueline de Romilly, Prince Albert II of Monaco, filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, and mathematician Jean Frédéric Auguste Delsarte. [Video 1] [Video 2] 1.6.12

Ares Rosakis has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Professor Rosakis was elected for discovery of intersonic rupture, contributions to understanding dynamic failure, and methods to determine stresses in thin-film structures.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, whereappropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education." 2.8.11

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Chair, Division of Engineering and Applied Science, will be receiving the A. C. Eringen Medal at the 48th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science where he will also deliver the Engineering Science Lecture. The A. C. Eringen Medal is awarded in recognition of sustained outstanding achievements in Engineering Science. 12.20.10

Ares Rosakis gave the closing remarks at the 2010 National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges National Summit. Professor Rosakis' presentation entitled "Where Have All the Rocket Scientists Gone?" wrapped up a two day event involving leading scientists and engineers, educators, policy leaders, innovators and corporate executives. 10.12.10

Ares J. Rosakis is the recipient of the 2010 Brown Engineering Alumni Medal (BEAM). The medal is awarded to distinguished Brown alumni who have established exceptional records of accomplishment in their careers. Professor Rosakis received the medal at a ceremony held in the Brown Alumnae Hall accompanied by his former teacher Rodney J. Clifton, Dean of Brown University School of Engineering, L. Ben Freund, Rosakis' PhD advisor and former Chair of Brown University Division of Engineering, as well as Rosakis' classmate Wei Yang, President of Zhejiang University in China [in photo standing from left to right]. At the same ceremony it was announced that the Division of Engineering at Brown University has been elevated to the School of Engineering at Brown. 6.2.10

Avatar Director James Cameron met with Caltech faculty and students on May 4, 2010 to discuss a variety of topics including space structure systems, interdisciplinary materials and device research, and cognitive neuroscience. All present were impressed by Mr. Cameron's level of interest and engagement. Ares Rosakis said "if Mr. Cameron was not such an accomplished director I bet he would have made a wonderful engineer." 5.18.10

Ares J. Rosakis has been selected to receive the 2010 Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers "for pioneering contributions to the field of fracture and failure mechanics of microelectronic, engineering and geological materials and structures, spanning a wide range of length scales; and for visionary leadership in promoting interdisciplinary research and education in mechanical engineering." 5.6.10

The Los Angeles Times magazine has featured Ares Rosakis, EAS Chair; Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, as a visionary - "someone who has the perception to see past entrenched, received ideas about what is possible and conjure revolutionary concepts". In the article entitled "Information Sage" Chair Rosakis discusses the IST initiative and highlights the interconnectedness of the research being conducted in the EAS division. [LA Times Article] 1.04.10

2009

Making the world a better place was the theme of the September 15, 2009 International von Kármán Wings Award ceremony which honored international leaders and aerospace pioneers Abdul Kalam, the 11th president of India and distinguished professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, and Yannick d'Escatha, chairman and chief executive officer of the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Ares J. Rosakis, chair of the Aerospace Historical Society, chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science, and Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering presented the awards to the honorees and stated, "along with their tremendous accomplishments in aerospace, this year's honorees are leaders in international collaboration, climate monitoring, and energy harvesting". 09.15.09

Caltech Faculty Members and Board Chair Named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Caltech American Academy of Arts & Sciences professors Marianne Bronner-Fraser and Ares Rosakis, as well as Chairman of the Board Kent Kresa, are among the 210 new fellows elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences this year. They join an assembly that was founded in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, and other scholars to provide practical solutions to pressing issues. 04.21.09

Ares Rosakis, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been named chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science, effective May 1. After earning his BSc from University of Oxford and his ScM and PhD from Brown University, Rosakis joined the Caltech faculty in 1982. Since 2004, he has served as director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT). Provost Ed Stolper stated that "his remarkable breadth and the leadership skills he has shown as director of GALCIT have demonstrated the mix of interests, temperament, and skills required to lead the EAS division creatively and effectively as it addresses its needs, opportunities, and challenges in research and education." 03.05.09

Ares Rosakis, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, and Hiroo Kanamori, John E. and Hazel S. Smits Professor of Geophysics, Emeritus, with their students and colleagues were featured in the documentary How the Earth Was Made (History Channel on February 10, 2009). The segment concerns the San Andreas fault and features a part which was filmed in the Solid Dynamics Lab at GALCIT. It also features an interview on supershear earthquake ruptures with Rosakis and Kanamori. [Download Video] 02.09.09

Ares Rosakis, Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering; Director, GALCIT, has been elected to the grade of Fellow in the Society of Experimental Mechanics. Designation as an SEM Fellow is reserved to a select group of individuals that have made notable contributions to the Society and to the field of Experimental Mechanics. The formal presentation of the 2009 Fellow Award will take place at the Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 2, during the SEM Annual Conference that is scheduled to be held June 1 - 3, 2009 in Albuquerque, NM. 12.08.08

One of Five Centers of Excellence for Predictive Science. With a $17 million grant from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the California Institute of Technology becomes one of five new centers of excellence that will focus on the emerging field of predictive science. Michael Ortiz, the Dotty and Dick Hayman Professor of Aeronautics, professor of mechanical engineering, and director of Caltech's new Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program (PSAAP) Center, says Caltech will focus its efforts on the high-energy density dynamic response of materials, with demonstrations of hypervelocity impact response. Hypervelocity impact is central to a number of scientific and application areas, including the design of protective shields for space structures and the understanding of meteorite impact cratering, Ortiz says. Accurate computer simulation is critical to the understanding of experiments that involve velocities reaching 10 kilometers per second, pressures in the megabar range, and extraordinarily high temperatures and deformation rates. 03.13.08

Professor Ares Rosakis, Professor G. Ravichandran, and their student George Lykotrafitis have been awarded the 2008 Hetenyi Award, named in honor of Dr. Miklos Hetenyi, for the best research paper published in Experimental Mechanics. The title of the paper is "Particle Velocimetry and Photoelasticity Applied to the Study of Dynamic Sliding Along Frictionally-Held Bimaterial Interfaces: Techniques and Feasibility" which was published in 2006. Their award will be presented in a ceremony at the awards luncheon at the SEM XI International Congress and Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics scheduled to be held in June 2008 in Orlando, Florida. 1.31.08

Professor Ares Rosakis has been named the Astor Visiting Professor and Lecturer at Oxford University, his alma matter. He is scheduled to deliver the Astor Lecture at the Oxford University, Museum Lecture Theatre on Friday, May 2, 2008. The title of his lecture is Intersonic Earthquakes: What laboratory earthquakes can teach us about real ones. 1.31.08

Ares Rosakis and team documented for the first time a systematic variation in earthquake rupture patterns called pulselike and cracklike ruptures. [Caltech Press Release] 11.30.07

Ares Rosakis has received the 2007 D. R. Harting Award, from the Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM) for the "Best Paper" published in Experimental Techniques. The title of the paper is "Supershear and Sub-Rayleigh to Supershear Transition Observed in Laboratory Earthquake Experiments". Rosakis and his co-authors, Dr. Kaiwan Xia and Professor Hiroo Kanamori received this award in June 2007 at the SEM Annual Conference, Springfield, MA. 06.01.07

Professor Ares Rosakis was invited to give the Alwin Schaller Distinguished Lecture, at the Mechanical Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, on May 1, 2007. The title of his talk was "Laboratory Earthquakes". 6/22/07

Professor Ares Rosakis has been invited to give the Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Lecture at Stony Brook University, New York, on Friday, January 26, 2007. The title of his talk is "Laboratory Earthquakes." 1.9.07

Ares Rosakis and colleagues seismic experiments provide new clues to earthquake wave directionality and growth speed. Knowing the wave speeds of the materials in different tectonic plates and the stresses acting on them, could someday have an improved ability to predict which areas along a major fault might be more powerfully hit. [Caltech Press Release] 4.25.05

Ares Rosakis and Hiroo Kanamori demonstrate existence of earthquake supershear phenomenon. [Caltech Press Release] 3.18.04

Ares Rosakis, Hiroo Kanamori, and Kaiwen Xi study the speeds at which earthquakes travel. [Star News Article] 3.18.04

Researchers say 'Super-shear' could aid quake preparedness [The Desert Sun Article] 3.22.04

Ares Rosakis and his graduate students Omprakash Samudrala and Demirkan Coker generate cracks that move as fast as the speed of sound, and resemble certain earthquake shear ruptures. [Caltech Press Release] 5.20.99