Eric Reissner

Max Erich (Eric) Reissner (January 5, 1913 – November 1, 1996) was a German-American civil engineer and mathematician, and Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is remembered by The New York Times (1996) as the "mathematician whose work in applied mechanics helped broaden the theoretical understanding of how solid objects react under stress and led to advances in both civil and aerospace engineering.

At the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg he obtained dregrees in Applied Mathematics in 1935, and in Civil Engineering in 1936.

Next he obtained his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1938[4] under Dirk Struik with the thesis, entitled "Contributions to the Theory of Elasticity of Non-Isotropic Materials."

Reissner started his academic career in 1938 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught mathematics.