Liviu Librescu
Encyclopedia
Liviu Librescu was a Romania
n-Israel
i-American
scientist and academic professor whose major research fields were aeroelasticity
and aerodynamics
. A prominent academic in addition to being a Holocaust survivor, he is most widely known for his actions during the Virginia Tech massacre
, in which he held off the gunman, giving all but one of his students enough time to escape through the windows. Librescu was shot and killed during the attack. Librescu was posthumously awarded the Order of the Star of Romania
, Romania's highest civilian honor. At the time of his death, he was Professor
of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech
.
, Romania
. After Romania allied with Nazi Germany
in World War II
, his family was deported to a labor camp
in Transnistria
, and later, along with thousands of other Jews, was deported to a ghetto
in the Romanian city of Focşani
. His wife, Marlena, who is also a Holocaust
survivor, told Israeli Channel 10
TV the day after his death, "We were in Romania during the Second World War, and we were Jews there among the Germans, and among the anti-Semitic Romanians." Dorothea Weisbuch, a cousin of Librescu living in Romania, said in an interview to Romanian newspaper Cotidianul
: "He was an extraordinarily gifted person and very altruistic. When he was little, he was very curious and knew everything, so that I thought he would become very conceited, but it did not happen so; he was of a rare modesty."
After surviving the Holocaust, Librescu was repatriated to Communist Romania
. He studied aerospace engineering
at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest
, graduating in 1952 and continuing with a Master's degree
at the same university. He was awarded a Ph.D.
in fluid mechanics
in 1969 at the Academia de Ştiinţe din România
. From 1953 to 1975, he worked as a researcher at the Bucharest
Institute of Applied Mechanics, and later at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Aerospace Constructions of the Academy of Science of Romania.
His career stalled in the 1970s because he refused to swear allegiance to the Romanian Communist Party
and was forced out of academia for his sympathies towards Israel. When Librescu requested permission to immigrate to Israel
, the Academy of Science of Romania fired him. In 1976, a smuggled research manuscript that he had published in the Netherlands
drew him international attention in the growing field of material dynamics.
After years of government refusal
, Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin
personally intervened to get the Librescu family an emigration permit by directly asking Romanian President
Nicolae Ceauşescu
to let them go. They moved to Israel in 1978.
From 1979 to 1986, Librescu was Professor of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering at Tel Aviv University
and taught at the Technion in Haifa
. In 1985, he left on sabbatical for the United States, where he served as Professor at Virginia Tech
in its Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, where he remained until his death. He served as a member on the editorial board of seven scientific journals and was invited as a guest editor of special issues of five other journals. Most recently, he was co-chair of the International Organizing Committee of the 7th International Congress on Thermal Stress, Taipei
, Taiwan
, June 4–7, 2007, for which he had been scheduled to give the keynote lecture. According to his wife, no Virginia Tech professor has ever published more articles than Librescu.
. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho
entered Norris Hall Engineering Building and opened fire on classrooms. Librescu, who taught a solid mechanics
class in Room 204 in the Norris Hall during April 2007, held the door of his classroom shut while Cho attempted to enter it. Although he was shot through the door, Librescu managed to prevent the gunman from entering the classroom until most of his students had escaped through the windows. He was struck by five bullets, with a shot to the head proving to be fatal. Of the 23 registered students in his class, only one, Minal Panchal, died.
A number of Librescu's students have called him a hero because of his actions. Caroline Merrey, a senior, said she and about 20 other students scrambled through the windows as Librescu shouted for them to hurry. Merrey said, "I don’t think I would be here if it wasn't for [Librescu]." Librescu's son Joe said he had received e-mails from several students who said he had saved their lives and regarded him as a hero. Also, Librescu's page on RateMyProfessors.com has turned into a memorial for the professor.
Following the murder of Librescu, at the request of his family and with the assistance of Gov. Tim Kaine
, his body was released on April 17 and he received a funeral service at a Jewish Orthodox
funeral home in Borough Park
, Brooklyn
, New York City
, New York
. On April 20, he was interred in Israel. In his native Romania, his picture was placed on a table at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, and a candle was lit. People laid flowers nearby.
The massacre took place on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah
). On April 18, 2007, President of the United States
George W. Bush
honored Librescu at a memorial service held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
, attended by a crowd that included many Holocaust survivors:
(2000) and Foreign Fellow of the Academy of Engineering of Armenia
(1999). He was a recipient of Doctor Honoris Causa
of the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest (2000), of the 1999 Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, and a laureate of the Traian Vuia
Prize of the Romanian Academy
(1972). He was a member of the Board of Experts of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research. He was awarded the Engineering Science and Mechanics Frank J. Maher Award for Excellence in Engineering Education (2005) and an ASME
diploma (2005) expressing "deep appreciation for the valuable services in advancing the engineering profession".
Posthumously, Professor Librescu was commended by Traian Băsescu
, the President of Romania
, with the Order of the Star of Romania
with the rank of Grand Cross, "as a sign of high appreciation and gratitude for the entire scientific and academic activity, as well as for the heroism shown in the course of the tragic events which took place on April 16th, 2007,[...] through which he saved the lives of his students, sacrificing his own life."
The Chabad
Hasidic Movement named its Jewish Student Center at Virginia Tech after him.
The street in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest was named in his honor.
Professor Librescu was also awarded the 2007 Facilitator Award by Stetson University College of Law’s Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy.
News
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scientist and academic professor whose major research fields were aeroelasticity
Aeroelasticity
Aeroelasticity is the science which studies the interactions among inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces. It was defined by Arthur Collar in 1947 as "the study of the mutual interaction that takes place within the triangle of the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces acting on structural...
and aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
. A prominent academic in addition to being a Holocaust survivor, he is most widely known for his actions during the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
, in which he held off the gunman, giving all but one of his students enough time to escape through the windows. Librescu was shot and killed during the attack. Librescu was posthumously awarded the Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
, Romania's highest civilian honor. At the time of his death, he was Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
.
Life and career
Liviu Librescu was born in 1930 to a Jewish family in the city of PloieştiPloiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
, Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
. After Romania allied with Nazi Germany
Romania during World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, his family was deported to a labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
in Transnistria
Transnistria (World War II)
Transnistria Governorate was a Romanian administered territory, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, and occupied from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944...
, and later, along with thousands of other Jews, was deported to a ghetto
Ghettos in occupied Europe 1939-1944
During World War II, ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe were set up by the Third Reich in order to confine Jews and sometimes Gypsies into tightly packed areas of the cities...
in the Romanian city of Focşani
Focsani
Focşani is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the shores the Milcov river, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population of 101,854.-Geography:...
. His wife, Marlena, who is also a Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor, told Israeli Channel 10
Israel 10
Channel 10 , formerly known as Israel 10 is a commercial broadcasting television channel licensed in Israel. It operates under the auspices of the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority .-History:...
TV the day after his death, "We were in Romania during the Second World War, and we were Jews there among the Germans, and among the anti-Semitic Romanians." Dorothea Weisbuch, a cousin of Librescu living in Romania, said in an interview to Romanian newspaper Cotidianul
Cotidianul
thumb|right|Old logo of Cotidianul newspaper, used in the [[inter-war period]], and in the early 1990sthumb|right|The logo used between 2003 and 2007...
: "He was an extraordinarily gifted person and very altruistic. When he was little, he was very curious and knew everything, so that I thought he would become very conceited, but it did not happen so; he was of a rare modesty."
After surviving the Holocaust, Librescu was repatriated to Communist Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
. He studied aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. It is divided into two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering...
at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest
Polytechnic University of Bucharest
Universitatea Politehnica din Bucureşti is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in 1864 based on the older technical school of Gheorghe Lazăr and it was renamed "Politehnica" in 1920.-History:...
, graduating in 1952 and continuing with a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at the same university. He was awarded a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
in 1969 at the Academia de Ştiinţe din România
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
. From 1953 to 1975, he worked as a researcher at the Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
Institute of Applied Mechanics, and later at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Aerospace Constructions of the Academy of Science of Romania.
His career stalled in the 1970s because he refused to swear allegiance to the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
and was forced out of academia for his sympathies towards Israel. When Librescu requested permission to immigrate to Israel
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
, the Academy of Science of Romania fired him. In 1976, a smuggled research manuscript that he had published in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
drew him international attention in the growing field of material dynamics.
After years of government refusal
Refusenik (Soviet Union)
Refusenik was an unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively, Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate abroad by the authorities of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc...
, Israeli Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
personally intervened to get the Librescu family an emigration permit by directly asking Romanian President
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
to let them go. They moved to Israel in 1978.
From 1979 to 1986, Librescu was Professor of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
and taught at the Technion in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. In 1985, he left on sabbatical for the United States, where he served as Professor at Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
in its Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, where he remained until his death. He served as a member on the editorial board of seven scientific journals and was invited as a guest editor of special issues of five other journals. Most recently, he was co-chair of the International Organizing Committee of the 7th International Congress on Thermal Stress, Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, June 4–7, 2007, for which he had been scheduled to give the keynote lecture. According to his wife, no Virginia Tech professor has ever published more articles than Librescu.
Fields of research
Librescu's major fields of study included:- Foundation and applications of the modern theory of shells incorporating non-classical effects and composed of advanced composite materialComposite materialComposite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
s - Foundation of the theory and applications of sandwich type structuresSandwich structured compositeA sandwich-structured composite is a special class of composite materials that is fabricated by attaching two thin but stiff skins to a lightweight but thick core...
- Aeroelastic stability of flight vehicle structures
- Nonlinear aeroelasticityAeroelasticityAeroelasticity is the science which studies the interactions among inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces. It was defined by Arthur Collar in 1947 as "the study of the mutual interaction that takes place within the triangle of the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces acting on structural...
of structures in supersonicSupersonicSupersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
and hypersonicHypersonicIn aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
flow fields - Aeroelastic and structural tailoringStructural analysisStructural analysis is the determination of the effects of loads on physical structures and their components. Structures subject to this type of analysis include all that must withstand loads, such as buildings, bridges, vehicles, machinery, furniture, attire, soil strata, prostheses and...
- Dynamic response and instability of elasticElasticity (physics)In physics, elasticity is the physical property of a material that returns to its original shape after the stress that made it deform or distort is removed. The relative amount of deformation is called the strain....
and viscoelasticViscoelasticityViscoelasticity is the property of materials that exhibit both viscous and elastic characteristics when undergoing deformation. Viscous materials, like honey, resist shear flow and strain linearly with time when a stress is applied. Elastic materials strain instantaneously when stretched and just...
laminated composite structuresLaminateA laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
subjected to deterministic and random loading systems - Mechanical and thermal postbuckling of flat and curved shear-deformable elastic panels
- Static, dynamic and aeroelastic feedback control of adaptive structures
- Unsteady aerodynamics and magnetoaerodynamics of supersonic flows with applications
- Optimization problems of aeroelastic structural systems
- Theory of composite thin-walled beams and its application in aeronauticalAeronauticsAeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
and mechanical constructions - Nonlinear structural deformation of compressible composite materials under shear stress
- Response and behavior of structures to underwater and in-air explosions
- Multifunctional and functionally graded material structures.
Death and legacy
At age 76, Librescu was among the 32 people who were murdered in the Virginia Tech massacreVirginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho
Seung-Hui Cho
Seung-Hui Cho was a senior-level undergraduate student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University who killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on April 16, 2007, in the shooting rampage which came to be known as the "Virginia Tech massacre." Cho later committed suicide after law...
entered Norris Hall Engineering Building and opened fire on classrooms. Librescu, who taught a solid mechanics
Solid mechanics
Solid mechanics is the branch of mechanics, physics, and mathematics that concerns the behavior of solid matter under external actions . It is part of a broader study known as continuum mechanics. One of the most common practical applications of solid mechanics is the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation...
class in Room 204 in the Norris Hall during April 2007, held the door of his classroom shut while Cho attempted to enter it. Although he was shot through the door, Librescu managed to prevent the gunman from entering the classroom until most of his students had escaped through the windows. He was struck by five bullets, with a shot to the head proving to be fatal. Of the 23 registered students in his class, only one, Minal Panchal, died.
A number of Librescu's students have called him a hero because of his actions. Caroline Merrey, a senior, said she and about 20 other students scrambled through the windows as Librescu shouted for them to hurry. Merrey said, "I don’t think I would be here if it wasn't for [Librescu]." Librescu's son Joe said he had received e-mails from several students who said he had saved their lives and regarded him as a hero. Also, Librescu's page on RateMyProfessors.com has turned into a memorial for the professor.
Following the murder of Librescu, at the request of his family and with the assistance of Gov. Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
, his body was released on April 17 and he received a funeral service at a Jewish Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
funeral home in Borough Park
Borough Park, Brooklyn
Borough Park , is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City in the United States....
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. On April 20, he was interred in Israel. In his native Romania, his picture was placed on a table at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, and a candle was lit. People laid flowers nearby.
The massacre took place on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah
Yom HaShoah
Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah , known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the...
). On April 18, 2007, President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
honored Librescu at a memorial service held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
, attended by a crowd that included many Holocaust survivors:
Honors and awards
Librescu received many academic honors during his work in the Engineering Science and Mechanics Department at Virginia Tech, serving as chair or invited as a keynote speaker of several International Congresses on Thermal Stresses and receiving several honorary degrees. He was elected member of the Academy of Sciences of the Shipbuilding of UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(2000) and Foreign Fellow of the Academy of Engineering of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
(1999). He was a recipient of Doctor Honoris Causa
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest (2000), of the 1999 Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, and a laureate of the Traian Vuia
Traian Vuia
Traian Vuia was a Romanian inventor and aviation pioneer who designed, builtand flew an early aircraft. His first flight traveled about 12 m at Montesson, France on March 18, 1906...
Prize of the Romanian Academy
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 acting members who are elected for life....
(1972). He was a member of the Board of Experts of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research. He was awarded the Engineering Science and Mechanics Frank J. Maher Award for Excellence in Engineering Education (2005) and an ASME
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
diploma (2005) expressing "deep appreciation for the valuable services in advancing the engineering profession".
Posthumously, Professor Librescu was commended by Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
, the President of Romania
President of Romania
The President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . An individual may serve two terms...
, with the Order of the Star of Romania
Order of the Star of Romania
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
with the rank of Grand Cross, "as a sign of high appreciation and gratitude for the entire scientific and academic activity, as well as for the heroism shown in the course of the tragic events which took place on April 16th, 2007,
The Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Hasidic Movement named its Jewish Student Center at Virginia Tech after him.
The street in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest was named in his honor.
Professor Librescu was also awarded the 2007 Facilitator Award by Stetson University College of Law’s Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy.
See also
- History of the Jews in RomaniaHistory of the Jews in RomaniaThe history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
- Romanian AmericanRomanian AmericanA Romanian American is a citizen of the United States who has significant Romanian heritage. For the 2000 US Census, 367,310 Americans indicated Romanian as their first ancestry, while 462,526 persons declared to have Romanian ancestry...
- Israeli AmericanIsraeli AmericanIsraeli Americans are Americans of Israeli descent. According to the 2000 census, there were 106,839 people of Israeli ancestry in the United States.- Demographics :...
External links
- In Memoriam, Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
- Librescu Family Condolence Page, Chabad on Campus FoundationChabad on Campus FoundationChabad on Campus International Foundation is the college wing of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. It has branches on over 130 North American campuses, and serves an additional 200+ campuses globally....
- Liviu Librescu's 61-page resume (PDF) (mirror)
- BBC profile
- The Librescu Jewish Student Center
News
- Complete Coverage: Virginia Tech Shooting, NewsdayNewsdayNewsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, April 17, 2007 - Heroes in the Midst of Horror: Holocaust Survivor, Students Saved Others by Marcus Baram, ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, April 17, 2007 - Librescu 'cared only about science' by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, Jerusalem Post, April 17, 2007
- Liviu Librescu, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, April 18, 2007