Richard B. Hetnarski

Richard B. Hetnarski
(Ryszard Bożysław Hetnarski)
Born	(1928-05-31)May 31, 1928 Stopnica, Poland
Died	June 8, 2024(2024-06-08) (aged 96) Naples, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	Polish American
Citizenship	Polish US Naturalized
Alma mater	Gdańsk University of Technology University of Warsaw Polish Academy of Sciences
Known for	Thermal Stresses Thermoelasticity
Scientific career
Fields	Solid Body Mechanics
Institutions	Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences Columbia University Northwestern University Cornell University Rochester Institute of Technology NASA Lewis Research Center
Thesis	On the Solution of Generalized Wave Equation in Problems of Coupled Thermoelasticity  (1964)
Doctoral advisor	Witold Nowacki Henryk Zorski

Richard B. Hetnarski (May 31, 1928 – June 8, 2024) was a Polish-born American academic and translator who was a professor in the department of mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. He was an ASME Fellow since 1983[1] and a New York State Licensed Professional Engineer since 1976.[2] He is best known for his contributions[3][4][5][6][7][8] to the fields of Thermal Stresses and Thermoelasticity.

Early life and work

Richard B. Hetnarski was born in Stopnica,[9] Poland. He received a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering at Gdańsk University of Technology in Poland in 1952;[4] an M.S. degree in mathematics at the University of Warsaw in 1960;[4] and a Doctor of Technical Sciences[10] degree at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw in 1964, mostly under the tutelage of Professor Witold Nowacki.[10][11] In his career he concentrated his research on Solid Body Mechanics.[7][3]

In Poland, he worked at the Institute of Aviation in Warsaw (1955–1959),[4] and also at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1959–1969).[4][10] In the years 1964–1965, he held post-doctorate fellowships at Columbia University in New York[4] and at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.[4]

Immigration to the United States

In 1969, he and his family emigrated from Poland to the United States,[4][8] and he became Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York,[4][8] for the year 1969–1970. He became a United States naturalized citizen in 1974. From 1970 until 1998, he held positions in the Department of mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology,[4] first as New York State Science and Technology Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor[12] (1970–1971), then as Professor[12] (1971–1992), and finally as James E. Gleason Professor (1992–1998).[13][14] He became a professor emeritus in 1998.[15]

In 1979, he held a summer faculty fellowship at the NASA Lewis Research Center[16] in Cleveland, Ohio. Then, in September 1979, he taught a UNESCO sponsored course at the International Centre for Mechanical Sciences (CISM)[17][12] in Udine, Italy. Subsequently, he became a NASA employee[12][18][19] as an aeronautical engineer, and worked at NASA in Cleveland until the end of January 1980. Later, he spent five months as Visiting Professor at the University of Paderborn in Germany.[20][12]

Personal life

Lech Wałęsa, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Poland and Richard B. Hetnarski in discussion at Rochester Institute of Technology 16 Feb 1998[21]

He was known for his deeply pro-democracy convictions. In 1989, when the Communist government in Poland was collapsing, he gave a number of presentations on the subject at three TV network affiliates of NBC, ABC, and CBS. When Lech Wałęsa, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of Poland, visited Rochester Institute of Technology[22] in February 1998, he and Wałęsa discussed the political situation in Poland, later described in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,[23] February 22, 1998 edition.

Hetnarski died in Naples, Florida, on June 8, 2024, at the age of 96.[24][25]

Achievements

Professor Richard B. Hetnarski, at the opening ceremony of the 10th International Congress on Thermal Stresses in Nanjing, China, on 1 Jun 2013. He is presenting the book "Theory of Elasticity and Thermal Stresses" which just got published.

He was the founder (with Naotake Noda) and president until 2020 of the International Congresses on Thermal Stresses (ICTS). These Congresses are held every two years consecutively on three continents, that is, in Asia, America, Europe. The first meeting was held June 5–7, 1995 in Hamamatsu, Japan at Shizuoka University[26][13] and second was held June 8–11, 1997 in Rochester, New York, U.S. at Rochester Institute of Technology.[27] These were titled First and Second International Symposium on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, respectively. The name International Symposium on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics was changed to International Congress on Thermal Stresses with the meeting in Kraków, Poland at Cracow University of Technology on June 13–17, 1999.[28] In 2002 the International Congresses on Thermal Stresses (ICTS) became an Affiliated Organization of International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM).[29]

Hetnarski was active in teaching, research, publishing, translating, and editing. He is the author of many papers[3][7] on Mechanics and Mathematics. His latest paper, on Constant Force Spring System with a Spiral[30] was published in the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics in 2020 when he was 92 years old.

Books

He was a co-author of five graduate-level textbooks:

• Thermal Stresses,[31] by N. Noda, R.B. Hetnarski, and Y. Tanigawa, 2nd edition, Taylor & Francis, XIV+493 pages, 2003.
• The Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, by R.B. Hetnarski and J. Ignaczak, 2nd edition, CRC Press, XXXV+800 pages, 2010.
• Solutions Manual to accompany the book Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, by R.B. Hetnarski and J. Ignaczak, Taylor & Francis, New York, 2005, 160 pages.
• Thermal Stresses - Advanced Theory and Applications, by R.B. Hetnarski and M.R. Eslami, 2nd edition, Springer, XXXII+636 pages, 2019.
• Theory of Elasticity and Thermal Stresses – Explanations, Problems and Solutions, by M.R. Eslami, R.B. Hetnarski, J. Ignaczak, N. Noda, N. Sumi, and Y. Tanigawa, XVI+789 pages, Springer, 2013.

Editor and translator work

All 11 Volumes of the Encyclopedia of Thermal Stresses, 10 June 2014

In 1978, he founded the Journal of Thermal Stresses,[32][8] and he was its editor-in-chief for 40 years[5][4] (1978-2018), and is now its Honorary Editor. He served (1988-1991) as an Associate Editor of Applied Mechanics Reviews.

He was Editor of the 11-volume Encyclopedia of Thermal Stresses,[33][34] 6643 pages, Springer, 2014. Also, he was Editor of the five-volume Thermal Stresses[35] handbook which was published by Elsevier in Amsterdam and by Lastran Corp. in Rochester, New York, in the years 1986–1999.

Hetnarski translated or co-translated three books into Polish from Russian,[36] from German,[37] and from English,[38] and one from Russian into English.[39] He edited five books on Mechanics.[40][41][42][43][44]

References

1. ASME 2020 Fellows List, p. 29
2. NYS Professional Engineer License. 12 Mar 1976
3. "Richard B. Hetnarski's research while affiliated with Rochester Institute of Technology and other places".
4. Ignaczak, J. (1998). Recollections on Richard B. Hetnarski, Journal of Thermal Stresses, vol. 21, pp. 181-183.
5. Special Issue to Commemorate the 90th Birthday of Richard B. Hetnarski and Forty Years of the Journal of Thermal Stresses, Journal of Thermal Stresses, Part I, vol. 41, 2018, issues 10, 11, 12, pp. XVIII + 1202-1596.  Part II, vol. 42, 2019, issue 1, pp. 1-212.  
6. YUGOSLAV SOCIETY OF MECHANICS NEWS - Professor Richard B. Hetnarski
7. Semantic Scholar - R. Hetnarski
8. Ireland, C., "Three physicists glow in Rochester". Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY] p. 1B & 4B, 2 Aug. 1998.
9. Stopnica, Main Square (rynek) at the end of the market day ca. 1936
10. Professor Witold Nowacki Assessment. 11 June 1969
11. "Assessment of Dr. Ryszard B. Hetnarski's scientific activities". Polish Academy of Science. 14 June, 1969
12. "Hetnarski Research on Aerospace Stress". R·I·T NEWS & EVENTS. 20 Mar, 1980. p. 3., Vol.12, No.11
13. "Prof to Co-chair International Symposium". R·I·T NEWS & EVENTS. 19 Mar, 1998. Page 5., Vol.30, No.10
14. "Dr. Hetnarski Named RIT's Jeames E. Gleason Professor", The Rochester Engineer. Oct. 1992 p. 30
15. RIT Professor Emeritus Appointment. 8 Sept 1998
16. Cetificate of Recognition, NASA Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, Summer 1979
17. CISM Invitation. 23 Jan 1979
18. NASA Employee Service Statement, 9 Oct 1979 - 1 Feb 1980
19. NASA Notification of Personnel Action, 9 Oct 1979 - 1 Feb 1980
20. Visiting Professor Invitation. University of Paderborn, 26 April 1979
21. RIT Staff Photographer, Photo of Lech Wałęsa and Richard B. Hetnarski at Rochester Institute of Technology, 16 Feb. 1998. Hetnarski's personal collection.
22. "RIT's latest in-the-news stories". R·I·T NEWS & EVENTS. 17 May 1995. p. 5, Vol.26, No.18
23. "Reader Q & A". Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY] p. 19A, 22 Feb. 1998.
24. "Richard B. Hetnarski". Fuller Funeral Home-Cremation Service. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
25. "Richard Bozylaw Hetnarski Obituary". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
26. First International Symposium on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics
27. Second International Symposium on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics
28. Third International Congress on Thermal Stresses
29. IUTAM 2002 Annual Report, p.82
30. Hetnarski, R. B. (August 11, 2020). "Constant Force Spring System With a Spiral." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. December 2020; 12(6): 061018. doi:10.1115/1.4047982
31. Applied Mechanics Reviews, vol. 54, no 4, July 2001, pages B71-B72
32. "Our Faculty: In the Forefront of the Field." RIT M·E·R·I·T, Spring 1987. p. 2
33. Maugin, Gérard A. (2015). [Review of Encyclopedia of Thermal Stresses, edited by Richard B. Hetnarski LXXXIII (11 vols., 6643 pp., 3269 illus., 1141 illus. in color), Springer, Dordrecht, Holland, 2014. ISBN 978-9400727380]. Journal of Thermal Stresses Volume 38, 2015 - Issue 2, pp. 271-275.
34. Picture of 11-volume Encyclopedia of Thermal Stresses
35. Bahar, Leon Y. (1987). [Review of “Thermal Stresses I” Vol. 1 of the Second Series: Thermal Stresses Edited by Richard B. Hetnarski A Series of Handbooks in Mechanics and Mathematical Methods, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1986, pp. viii + 547]. Journal of Thermal Stresses Volume 10, 1987 - Issue 4, p. 367.
36. Iliushin, A.A. and Lenskij W.S., Strength of Materials. Translated by R.B. Hetnarski and W. Piechocki. Polish Scientific Publishers (PWN), Warsaw, 1963, 480 pages.
37. Doetsch, Gustav. Practice of Laplace Transforms. Translated by R.B. Hetnarski, Polish Scientific Publishers (PWN), Warsaw, 1964, 303 pages.
38. Moon, P. and Spencer, D.E., Field Theory for Engineers. Translated by R.B. Hetnarski, Polish Scientific Publishers (PWN), Warsaw, 1966, 600 pages.
39. Parton, V.Z. and Morozov, E.M., Mechanics of Elastic-Plastic Fracture, Translated by M. Piterman and R.B. Hetnarski, Hemisphere Publishing, New York, 1989.
40. Nowacki, W. (1975). Dynamic Problems of Thermoelasticity (translation from Polish). Edited by R.B. Hetnarski and P. Francis. Noordhoff International Publishing, 1975, 436 pages.
41. Parton, V.Z. and Boriskovsky, V.G. (1989). Dynamic Fracture Mechanics, vol. 1 (translation from Russian). Edited by R.B. Hetnarski. Hemisphere Publishing, New York, NY, 322 pages.
42. Parton, V.Z. and Morozov, E.M. (1989). Mechanics of Elastic-Plastic Fracture (translation from Russian). Edited by R.B. Hetnarski. Hemisphere Publishing, New York, NY, 522 pages.
43. Frolov, K.V., Izrailev, Yu.L., Makhutov, N.A., Morozov. E.M. and Parton, V.Z. (1991). Thermal Stresses and Strength of Turbines (translation from Russian). Hemisphere Publishing, New York, NY, 379 pages.
44. Skrzypek J. (1993). Plasticity and Creep. Edited by R.B. Hetnarski. Begell House Publishing, New York, NY, and CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 542 pages.