Harris Manchester College Supernumerary Fellow and Tutor in Engineering Emilio Martínez-Pañeda was recently awarded the medal of the Spanish Society of Structural Integrity, the youngest-ever recipient of the honour.
The Spanish Society of Structural Integrity was founded in 1984 and brings together more than 300 researchers working in the field. The medal is awarded annually to a distinguished Spanish scientist who has made notable contributions to structural integrity.
The award was presented at the Society’s annual conference in March. As part of the ceremony, Professor Martínez-Pañeda delivered a lecture titled “Predicting fractures in ice-sheets and glaciers to improve sea level rise projections (Fracture mechanics for/of the planet Earth)”.
His work applies fracture mechanics to large-scale environmental systems, contributing to improved predictions of ice-sheet failure and, ultimately, global sea level rise, which is assuming an ever-greater importance in climate science.
Professor Martínez-Pañeda commented: “I am very honoured and grateful for this award, which is a result of the excellent and hard work by the DPhil students and postdoctoral researchers of my group, the Mechanics of Materials Lab, all the merit goes to them”.
