University of California Distinguished Professor Linda Petzold Recognized with 2018 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award

SC Insider
Fri, 19 Oct 2018 16:19:56 +0000
SC18, IEEE, Lina Petzold, Santa Barbara, Sidney Fernbach Award, University of California

University of California, Santa Barbara Distinguished Professor Linda Petzold, has been selected to receive the 2018 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award.

Petzold was cited for “pioneering contributions to numerical methods and software for differential-algebraic systems and for discrete stochastic simulation.”

Established in 1992 in memory of high performance computing pioneer Sidney Fernbach, the Sidney Fernbach Award is one of the IEEE Computer Society’s highest awards, and recognizes outstanding contributions in the application of high-performance computers using innovative approaches.

Petzold is currently the Mehrabian Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Computer Science (Chair 2003-2007), and Director of the Computational Science and Engineering Graduate Emphasis at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of ACM, ASME, SIAM, and AAAS.

The late/great Sidney Fernbach

Best known for her pioneering work on the numerical solution of differential-algebraic equations (DAEs), Petzold’s research focuses on modeling, simulation and analysis of multiscale systems in materials, biology and medicine. Many physical systems are naturally described as systems of DAEs.

These systems often consist of differential equations coupled to nonlinear constraints, and occur in the mathematical modeling of electrical networks and power systems, flow of incompressible fluids, mechanical systems simulation and control, chemical process simulation and control, and in many other areas. Petzold’s software, DASSL and its successor DASPK for the numerical solution of DAEs, is widely used throughout science, engineering and technology.

Named the UCSB Faculty Research Lecturer for 2011, Petzold was awarded the SIAM/ACM Prize for Computational Science and Engineering in 2013, received an Honorary Doctorate from Uppsala University in 2015, and was awarded the SIAM Prize for Distinguished Service in 2016.

The Sidney Fernbach award consists of a certificate and a $2,000 honorarium. The award will be presented to Petzold at SC18 on November 13, 2018.