Draft:Juan C. Simo

Juan Carlos Simo (1952-1994) was a distinguished Spanish engineer and notable figure in the field of computational mechanics. His work significantly impacted engineering analysis, particularly in the area of finite element analysis of inelastic solids and structures.

Early Life and Education
Juan Carlos Simo was born in Spain in 1952. He displayed an early aptitude for mathematics and engineering, which led him to pursue higher education in these fields. Simo earned his doctoral degree in Computational Mechanics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982, where he began his journey into the world of numerical simulations and mathematical modeling. It was here that he would meet several of his future collaborators, such as Thomas J.R. Hughes and Jerrold E. Marsden.

Career
Simo made fundamental progress in developing computational methods for problems involving inelastic deformations in solids and structures. His graduate course on Theoretical and Computational Inelasticity at Stanford became a cornerstone in the field, elevating the subject to new heights.

Simo made foundational contributions to several nonlinear structural theories. He formulated models for nonlinear rods, beams, plates, and shells undergoing large overall motions. His results were not only technically sound but also creatively presented—such as simulating “flying spaghetti” using nonlinear beam formulations. He demonstrated that Christoffel symbols need not be explicitly calculated for shell computations.

Personal Interests
Simo was known for his love of life. He enjoyed good food, wine, and baroque music. His adventurous spirit led him to run with the bulls in Pamplona and obtain a pilot’s license.

Death
Juan Carlos Simo passed away in 1994 at the age of 42, leaving behind a legacy of approximately eighty publications and three books that continue to be highly cited.