Some Aspects of the Evolution of Computational Mechanics in Argentina and the Role of Eduardo Dvorkin

Abstract

Computational mechanics began in Argentina after the first computer in an Argentinean university was installed for scientific applications at the Instituto de Cálculo, University of Buenos Aires, in 1961. Due to political upheavals in the period 1966-1983 its development was slow - but constant; eventually, the Argentinean Association for Computational Mechanics was created in 1985. That year Eduardo Dvorkin returned to Argentina, and from then on his impact and influence on computational mechanics was significant. We analyze in this contribution some aspects of the evolution of this discipline in Argentina since its beginnings in 1961, its relationship to informatics and applied mathematics and the role Dvorkin played in it during the last 25 years.