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February 23, 2007 Vol. 77, no.
6S
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| PEG SKORPINSKI
PHOTO |
Professor Minute with CEE professor Sanjay Govindjee
CEE professor Sanjay Govindjee received his S.B. in ME from MIT in
1986, his M.S. in ME from Stanford in 1987, and his Ph.D. in ME with
a minor in physics from Stanford in 1991. From 1991 to 1993, he worked
at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as an engineering analyst
in the Applied Mechanics Group. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1993.
He also serves as a consultant to several governmental agencies and
private corporations. His research interests include theoretical and
computational solid mechanics, constitutive theory and micromechanics.
What first inspired you to go into engineering?
My story here is rather uninspiring. Even though I am now doing exactly
what I love to do in life, it was pretty much my parents who chose
my career for me. It wasn’t done explicitly; they used a subtle
but effective form of benevolent brainwashing. In the end, though,
I must admit that it has worked out very well for me.
If you had a few extra hours, what would you do?
I’m torn on this one. I would like to do some more research,
but on the other hand, I would really like to get some more sleep.
What should engineering students make sure they do at Berkeley before
they graduate?
I can’t name a specific thing, but I definitely recommend doing
at least a couple of things that your parents would not suggest. Life
is finite, and you should probe the boundaries while you can still
get away with it.
What is one thing you would like to learn how to do?
There are really hundreds of things I’d like to learn. Top on
the list are learning how to dribble like Zinedine Zidane, and along
similar lines, learning how to jump curbs on my skateboard. These are
followed closely by wanting to learn De Giorgi’s theory of Gamma-convergence.
If I can figure out how to combine the three, then I’ll really
be pleased.
If you would like us to feature your favorite professor, please e-mail
his or her name to engnews@coe.berkeley.edu. |
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