Daniel C. Drucker

Who was Daniel C. Drucker?

Daniel Charles Drucker was an authority on the theory of plasticity in the field of applied mechanics. He was awarded the Timoshenko Medal in 1983.

Drucker taught at Brown University from 1946 until 1968 when he joined the University of Illinois as Dean of Engineering. In 1984 he left Illinois to become a graduate research professor at the University of Florida until his retirement in 1994. In 1988, Drucker was awarded the National Medal of Science. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Drucker Medal is named in his honor.

Drucker received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University. He died from leukemia on September 1, 2001.

His key contributions to the field of plasticity include the concept of material stability described by the Drucker stability postulates and the Drucker–Prager yield criterion.