Philip Gibson Hodge

Background

Philip Gibson Hodge Jr. was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Philip Gibson Hodge, a publisher and foreign service officer, and Muriel Miller Hodge. He married Thea D. Drell in 1943, the year he completed his undergraduate degree. During the Second World War he served in the United States Merchant Marine. After retirement, he and Thea lived in Palo Alto, California, where he pursued opera, theater, genealogy, gardening, travel, and distance running. Thea died in 2008 after 65 years of marriage.

Education

Hodge earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Antioch College in 1943. He then studied applied mathematics at Brown University, where he worked with William Prager and received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1949. His doctoral research concerned torsion in plastic bars and approximate solutions of problems of plane plastic flow, establishing the mathematical and mechanics foundation for his later work in plasticity theory.

Career

Hodge began his academic career as a research assistant at Brown University from 1947 to 1949. In 1949 he became an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he taught until 1953. He then joined the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, first as an associate professor of applied mechanics and subsequently as a professor. In 1957 he became a professor of mechanics at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, remaining there until 1971. He moved to the University of Minnesota in 1971 as professor of mechanics and continued there until his retirement in 1991. He subsequently held emeritus appointments at the University of Minnesota and Stanford University. Hodge served as technical editor of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Journal of Applied Mechanics from 1971 to 1976 and was secretary of the U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from 1984 to 2000. His research produced important advances in plasticity theory, including work on the method of characteristics, limit analysis, piecewise-linear isotropic plasticity, and nonlinear-programming applications. He directed 16 master's theses and 18 doctoral theses. Outside academic work, he wrote opera reviews and remained active as a marathon runner; in 1982 he won the men's 60–69 master's division of the Twin Cities Marathon.

Achievements

• Advanced the theory of plasticity through research on the method of characteristics, limit analysis, piecewise-linear isotropic plasticity, and nonlinear-programming applications.

• Directed 16 master's theses and 18 doctoral theses during his academic career.

• Won the men's 60–69 master's division of the 1982 Twin Cities Marathon.

Works

• monograph

  • Theory of Perfectly Plastic Solids

    (Co-authored with William Prager; a foundational treatment...)

    1951

  • Limit Analysis of Rotationally Symmetric Plates and Shells

    (A study of limit analysis applied to rotationally symmetr...)

    1963

  • Elasticity and Plasticity

    (Co-authored with J. N. Goodier; examines the mathematical...)

    1958

• textbook

  • Plastic Analysis of Structures

    (A textbook on plastic analysis of beams, frames, plates, ...)

    1959
  • Continuum Mechanics: An Introductory Text for Engineers

    (An introductory engineering text covering one-, two-, and...)

    1970

Membership

Hodge was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1977 and was an honorary member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. His professional service included participation in the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and leadership in the U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, where he served as secretary from 1984 to 2000. His ASME affiliation was recognized through the Worcester Reed Warner Medal, the ASME Medal, and the Daniel C. Drucker Medal.

• Elected member in 1977.

  National Academy of Engineering , United States

  1977

• Honorary member; recipient of the Worcester Reed Warner Medal in 1975, ASME Medal in 1987, and Daniel C. Drucker Medal in 2000.

  American Society of Mechanical Engineers , United States

• Participated in the organization; served as assistant treasurer from 1984 to 1992 and as an at-large member from 2000 to 2008.

  International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

  1982 - 2000

• Served as secretary.

  U.S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics , United States

  1984 - 2000

Personality

Hodge was described as an enthusiastic gardener, amateur genealogist, backpacker, marathon runner, theater enthusiast, and opera supporter. He organized a play-reading group after moving to Palo Alto and continued writing opera reviews until the year of his death.

Interests

• Gardening, genealogy, backpacking, travel, play reading, live theater, and opera.

• Sport & Clubs

  Distance running and marathon racing.

• Music & Bands

  Opera and live theater.

Connections

Hodge was the son of Philip Gibson Hodge and Muriel Miller Hodge. He married computer scientist Thea D. Hodge in 1943, and they had three children: Susan Edith Hodge, Philip Tully Hodge, and Elizabeth Muriel Hodge Kelly. His professional connections included his doctoral adviser William Prager and students whose later careers contributed to mechanics and engineering research.

Father:

Philip Gibson Hodge

Publisher and foreign service officer.

Mother:

Muriel Miller Hodge

Wife:

Thea D. Hodge

Computer scientist; married Hodge in 1943 and died in 2008.

Daughter:

Susan Edith Hodge

Son:

Philip Tully Hodge

Daughter:

Elizabeth Muriel Hodge Kelly

References

• Philip Gibson Hodge obituary Documents Hodge's family background, education, wartime Merchant Marine service, academic career, research contributions, interests, family, and death.
  2014
• Brown University Applied Mathematics Ph.D. Alumni Lists Hodge as a 1949 Brown University Ph.D. recipient.
• Daniel C. Drucker Medalists Lists Hodge as the 2000 recipient of the Daniel C. Drucker Medal.
• ASME Medalists Lists Hodge as the 1987 recipient of the ASME Medal.
• Theodore von Kármán Medal Past Award Winners Lists Hodge as the 1985 recipient of the Theodore von Kármán Medal.