Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Meinhard Kuna
Institute of Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics, TU Freiberg, Germany
Meinhard Kuna was appointed as professor of Applied Mechanics and Solid Mechanics at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany from 1997 to 2016. After that he is a professor in “active retirement” until today. Before, he has been working as visiting professor at University of Magdeburg, head of research departments at University of Stuttgart MPA, at Fraunhofer Institute IWM in Freiburg and at the Academy of Sciences of GDR in Halle.
His research is devoted to fundamental and applied problems in fracture mechanics, damage mechanics and fatigue crack growth. A particular topic is the micromechanical modelling of failure processes in metallic, ceramic and smart materials. His group developed numerical methods (FEM, BEM, DEM) and software for analyzing safety and lifetime of structural components. Experiments are focused on miniaturized materials testing. He published more than 500 articles in international journals or conference proceedings and the book “Finite Elements in Fracture Mechanics”. Under his supervision, about 50 young researchers earned their doctorates and habilitations.
Kuna’s honors include Wöhler Medal of German Society of Materials Testing, Weisbach Medal of his university for excellence in teaching and the TEXTY award as author of the above mentioned book. As an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal “Engineering Fracture Mechanics”, he served from 2015 to 2021 for the international fracture mechanics community. He is engaged in academic societies like German Fracture Group, German Research Foundation and European Structural Integrity Society.
