Ares J. Rosakis is a mechanical engineer and applied mechanician who is Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). His research spans dynamic fracture, experimental mechanics, earthquake physics, materials failure, impact mechanics, and solid mechanics. He is particularly known for pioneering experimental techniques for observing extremely rapid fracture and deformation processes, his discovery of supershear earthquake rupture in laboratory experiments, and his development of laboratory-earthquake methods for investigating earthquake physics.
Education and career
Ares J. Rosakis graduated from Athens College, a Greek-American school, in June 1975. He subsequently moved to the United Kingdom to study engineering science at the University of Oxford, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1978. He then continued his graduate studies at Brown University, receiving a Sc.M. in 1980 and a Ph.D. in engineering in 1982, specializing in solid mechanics and structures with a minor in materials science.
In 1982, Rosakis joined the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as an assistant professor, becoming an associate professor in 1988 and a full professor in 1993. In 2004, he was appointed the Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. From 2004 to 2009, he served as director of Caltech’s Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT), where he oversaw the development of new research and educational programs and strengthened collaborations with academic, government, and industrial partners. In 2005, he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Terre, Atmosphère et Océan at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and in 2008 he served as the Astor Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford.
From 2009 to 2015, Rosakis served as chair (Dean) of Caltech’s Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS). During his tenure, he oversaw the restructuring and expansion of the division, including the establishment of new academic and research initiatives in medical engineering, energy and sustainability, autonomous systems, and space solar power. He also promoted international academic partnerships and collaborations with institutions including the Indian Space Research Organization, the University of Seville, and École Polytechnique. In 2013, he was appointed the inaugural Otis Booth Leadership Chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science.
Rosakis’s career has been distinguished by major contributions to experimental mechanics, dynamic fracture, materials failure, and earthquake seismology, as well as by leadership in engineering education and research. He has been elected to several national and international scientific academies, including the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2011, the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, and the Academy of Athens. In 2024, he was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences and one of the world’s oldest continuously operating scientific academies. He was formally inducted into the Royal Society on July 10, 2026. The Royal Society recognized his interdisciplinary contributions to dynamic fracture and impact mechanics, including his development of high-speed optical and infrared diagnostic techniques, his experimental discoveries concerning intersonic fracture and supershear rupture, and his pioneering use of laboratory earthquakes to investigate earthquake physics. His election made him the first Caltech professor of mechanics and mechanical engineering to be elected to the Royal Society.
Honors and awards
Rosakis has received numerous national and international honors for his contributions to mechanics, materials science, aerospace engineering, experimental methods, and earthquake science. His distinctions recognize pioneering research on dynamic fracture and the failure of materials and structures, the development of high-speed optical and infrared diagnostic techniques, and experimental investigations of earthquake rupture and friction.
2026 - Formally admitted as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (FRS) following his 2024 election, for inventing high-speed optical and infrared diagnostic methods for studying dynamic fracture, shear localization and impact phenomena, and pioneering the use of laboratory earthquakes to study earthquakes worldwide.
2023 - Elected full member of the Academy of Athens (AA) in recognition of his exceptional contributions to experimental science, solid mechanics and aerospace engineering, including pioneering research into the dynamic failure of materials and the mechanics of earthquakes.
2021 - Received the Zdenek Bazant Medal (ASCE) for Failure and Damage Prevention “For ground breaking contributions to Earthquake Mechanics, specifically for inventing “laboratory Earthquakes” which have transformed our understanding of failure and damage processes in the Earth that have proven central to infrastructure damage prevention”. This medal is the only recognition exclusively devoted to the field of materials failure.
2021 - Recipient of the Horace Mann Medal (Distinguished Alumnus Award) “For his research and mentoring skills, as well as being a champion of societal impact that can be realized through the sciences”, and was a 2021 Commencement Forum speaker at Brown University.
2020 - Elected member of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) in recognition of his pioneering contributions to experimental mechanics, dynamic fracture, earthquake physics and aerospace engineering.
2019 - Awarded the Aurel Stodola Medal from ETH Zurich in recognition of the lasting impact of his research on engineering science.
2018 - Received the Stephen P. Timoshenko Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, (ASME) “For pioneering contributions to the mechanics of dynamic failure of geological materials and systems, earthquake source physics and seismic hazard mitigation”. The Timoshenko Medal is the flagship award in the field of Mechanics of Materials and one of ASME's oldest and highest honors.
2017 - Elected honorary International Congress on Fracture fellow (IFC) in recognition of his pioneering research and major contributions to dynamic fracture mechanics and the experimental study of rapidly propagating cracks.
2017 - Elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for, "Distinguished contributions in the field of aeronautics and mechanical engineering, particularly for fracture mechanics of materials ranging from thin films to earthquakes."
2017 - Elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for, “monumental achievements in the field of experimental fracture dynamics that have transformed our understanding of earthquake rupture processes”.
2016 - Received the Theodore von Kármán Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for “discovering several fundamental physical phenomena in dynamic fracture of heterogeneous materials and interfaces at various length and time scales”. This Medal is ASCE's highest recognition.
2016 - Elected member of US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of his distinguished research in mechanics and engineering.
2015 - Given the Sia Nemat-Nasser Medal from the same society “for his interdisciplinary utilization of experimental mechanics to advance other fields of science, in particular Earthquake Source Mechanics”.
2014 - Elected member of Academia Europaea (AE) in recognition of his internationally significant contributions to aerospace engineering, solid mechanics, dynamic fracture and earthquake mechanics.
2013 - Received the P.S. Theocaris Award from the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) “for his lifelong contribution to experimental science and mechanics”.
2013 - Elected foreign fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering(INAE) in recognition of his eminence and outstanding accomplishments is engineering and technology.
2013 - Elected member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA) in recognition of his distinguished contributions to engineering and science, particularly his research in aerospace engineering, solid mechanics, dynamic fracture and earthquake mechanics.
2013 - Elected corresponding Member of Academy of Athens (AA) in recognition of his internationally distinguished contributions to mechanical and aerospace engineering, solid mechanics, experimental mechanics, and the study of dynamic fracture and earthquake rupture.
2012 - Made Commander of the Order of Academic Palms (Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques) by the Prime Minister of the Republic of France “for his eminent contribution to French Engineering and Technical Education”.
2011 - Received the A.C. Eringen Medal from the Society of Engineering Science (SES) for sustained outstanding achievements in engineering science.
2011 - Elected member of US National Academy of Engineering(NAE) for discovery of intersonic rupture, contributions to understanding dynamic failure and methods to determine stresses in thin-film structures.
2010 - Awarded the Brown Engineering Alumnus Medal (BEAM) for an exceptional record of accomplishments in engineering, particularly his pioneering contributions to solid mechanics, dynamic failure and experimental mechanics.
2010 - Awarded the Robert Henry Thurston Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), delivering a plenary lecture on "Intersonic Earthquakes: What Laboratory Earthquakes Teach Us About Real Ones."
2009 - Elected Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) fellow for having made significant accomplishments to the field of mechanics.
2009 - Elected fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAA&S) in recognition of his pioneering contributions to fracture and failure mechanics.
2007 - Received the D.R. Harting Award from the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) for the "Best Paper" published in Experimental Mechanics.
2005 - Received the William M. Murray Medal and Lecture “for his life-long contributions to the development and application of advanced methods for accurate measurement of transient, dynamic phenomena”.
2003 - Received the Frocht Award, which recognizes “outstanding achievement as an educator in the field of experimental mechanics”.
1996 - Awarded the B. L. Lazan Award recognizing individuals who have made outstanding original technical contributions to experimental mechanics.
1992 - Received the Hetényi Award, an honor given for the best research paper published in Experimental Mechanics.
1989 - Awarded the Rudolf Kingslake Medal and Prize from the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE) for his work in designing optical diagnostics.
1985 - Received the U.S. Presidential Young Investigator Award (White House 1985, awarded by US President Ronald Reagan) in recognition of his promising research contributions in experimental mechanics and dynamic fracture.
Research