Kenji Takizawa (Waseda University Professor, Rice University Adjunct Professor) was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Applied Mechanics Division (ASME AMD). Takizawa started his 5-year term on July 1, 2021, and will chair the division in the last year of that 5-year term. The AMD was founded in 1927, and Stephen Timoshenko was the first chair. It is the largest of the six divisions in the ASME Basic Engineering Technical Group. Past chairs include James Goodier, Raymond Mindlin, William Prager, Daniel Drucker, George Carrier, Yuan-Cheng Fung, Jan Achenbach, Ted Belytschko, and Thomas Hughes.Tayfun Tezduyar (James F. Barbour Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Rice University and Joint Appointment Professor, Waseda University) served as the chair in 2010-2011.
Takizawa is the first member of the AMD Executive Committee from Japan. During his 5-year term on the committee, Takizawa will also serve on the committees for the Timoshenko Medal, Koiter Medal, Drucker Medal, Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award, Thomas J.R. Hughes Young Investigator Award, and Thomas K. Caughey Dynamics Award. After his 5-year term on the Executive Committee ends, as a past AMD Chair, he will serve 5 more years on these award committees.
