RULZ

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Who is Robin Sharma?

Robin is one of the world's top leadership experts and the author of 10 international bestsellers on leadership and personal success. He is the CEO of Sharma Leadership International Inc. (SLI), a global learning firm focused on helping people Lead Without Title. A former litigation lawyer, Robin holds 2 law degrees including a Masters of Law. His work has helped millions of people in over 50 countries show leadership in their work and personal lives. SLI clients include many of the worlds best known organizations including GE, Microsoft, IBM, Nike, FedEx, BP and Yale University.

Success Facts:
• In an independent ranking of the world's top leadership experts by leadershipgurus.net Robin is ranked #2 (along with Jim Collins, Jack Welch and John Maxwell)
• Robin's books have been published in over 50 countries and in 40 languages
• The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is the 5th best selling book in the history of Israel. It has been on India's Top 10 bestseller list of rover 2 years. Robin's books have been the fastest selling books in Turkish publishing history. His books have also been blockbusters in Japan, Spain, England, Dubai, Mexico, Singapore, Puerto Rico and throughout South America.
• Robin starred in his own PBS special and has appeared on over 1000 television and radio shows.
• Robin Sharma is the founder of The Robin Sharma Foundation for Children to help underprivileged children become leaders.

Robin’s Mission Statement:
• To help people and organizations Lead Without Title.

Family Status:
• Single Dad

Greatest Blessings:
• "My 2 children. And the fact that I get to do what I do."

Favorite Recreational Passions:
• Skiing, sailing, music, travelling (ideally with a backpack) reading, nature, and great conversation
Favorite Quotes:
• “The tragedy of life is not death. The tragedy of life is what we allow to die inside of us while we live.” Dr. Norman Cousins
• "Your lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." Martin Luther King, Jr

Robin’s "Cindrella Story":
A former lawyer, he quit his job and self-published a book at a Kinko's copy shop (his mother edited it). Stored 2000 copies in his kitchen. Second book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari was also originally self-published until former HarperCollins president Ed Carson discovered Robin in a bookstore. The book, and the series that followed, has become one of the world's most successful publishing franchises.
What’s the Buzz on Robin Sharma: Robin's become one of the most trusted advisors on Leadership and Personal Success to organizations internationally. Many Fortune 500 companies have already embraced Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. Corporate transformations have occurred in organizations such as Microsoft, IBM, FedEx, Panasonic, Kraft, General Motors and Panasonic. The book is essentially about creating workplaces where it’s safe to be human again, helping leaders work and live by a high moral code, inspiring individuals to step up to the plate and show leadership at work and in their personal lives.

What People are Saying about Robin and his Work:
• "Independently ranked one of the top 10 leadership gurus in the world." - LeadershipGurus.net
• "Robin Sharma's books are helping people all around the world live great lives." - Paulo Coelo, author of the international bestseller The Alchemist
• "Though Sharma rejects the guru label, it's hard not to think of the CEO of the training and coaching firm Sharma Leadership International that way" - Publishers Weekly
• "Robin Sharma has the rare gift of writing books that are fun to read yet truly life changing." Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Don't Sweat The Small Stuff.
• "The Saint, The Surfer and The CEO will touch and change many lives." John Gray, author of the #1 bestseller Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.
• "Another amazing, life-changing book by Robin Sharma." Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the international bestselling series Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Favourite Books
• The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
• A Manual For Living - by Epictetus (Interpretation by Sharon Lebell)
• The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - Marcus Aurelius Antonius
• Hope for the Flowers - Trina Paulus
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Ben Franklin
• The Magic of Thinking Big - David Schwartz
• Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
• Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership - Joe Jaworsky
• The Message of a Master - John McDonald
• Often Wrong, Never in Doubt: Unleash the Business Rebel With - Donny Deutsch
• iCon Stev Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Buisness - Jeffery S. Yound and William L. Simon
• Thinking Body, Dancing Mind - Jerry Lynch
• The Power of Optimism - Alan Loy McGinnis
• Take Your Time - Eknath Easwaran
• The Go-Getter - Peter B. Kyne
• The Art of Happiness - Howard Cutler
• The Art of Worldy Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian
• University of Success - Og Mandino
• Small Graces - Kent Nerburn
• The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Magic of Believing - Claude Bristol
• Walden - Henry David Thoreau

Favourite Movies
• The Matrix
• Million Dollar Baby
• Braveheart
• The Shawshank
• Redemption
• Wall Street Scarface
• Scent of A Woman
• Gladiator
• Life is Beautiful
• Dead Poet's Society

Favourite CDs
• Cafe Del Mar: Volume 7
• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2
• X & Y by Coldplay
• O by Damien Rice
• In Violet Light by The Tragically Hip
• In Between Evolution by The Tragically Hip
• Part of the Process by Morcheeba Amar
• Es Combatir by Mana

Favourite Sites
• The New York Times
• Fast Company
• Business 2.0
• Zaadz
• Wired
• Squidoo
• Human Clock
• ClickZ
• Apple
• Amazon
• Wikipedia
• YouTube

His most famous book, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, which is told like a fable, has been published in dozens of countries in dozens of languages.

Other publications include:

* Who Will Cry When You Die?
* Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
* Discover Your Destiny With The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
* The Greatness Guide: Powerful secrets of getting to World Class
* Discover Your Destiny
* The Saint, the Surfer and the CEO
* Mega Living!

Sharma is the CEO of Sharma Leadership International Inc., a global training firm whose clients include GE, Nike, FedEx, NASA, Unilever, Microsoft, BP, IBM, The Harvard Business School and Yale University.

HARVARD COMMENCEMENT SPEECH - 2008

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

Text as prepared follows.
Copyright of JK Rowling, June 2008
----------------------------------

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates.

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.

Thank you very much.

Warren Edward Buffett's Time Line - World's Richest Man

1943: (13 years old)

* Buffett filed his first income tax return, deducting his bicycle as a work expense for $35.

1945: (15 years old)

* In his senior year of high school, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in a barber shop. Within months, they owned three machines in different locations.

1949: (19 years old)

* In 1949, he was initiated into Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity while an undergraduate at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. His father and uncles were also Alpha Sigma Phi brothers from the chapter at Nebraska, where Warren eventually transferred.

1950: (20 years old)

* Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School after learning that Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, two well-known securities analysts, taught there.

1951: (21 years old)

* Buffett discovered Graham was on the Board of GEICO insurance at the time. After taking a train to Washington, D.C. on a Saturday, Buffett knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor allowed him in. There, he met Lorimer Davidson, the Vice President, who was to become a lasting influence on him and life-long friend.
* Buffett graduated from Columbia and wanted to work on Wall Street. Buffett offered to work for Graham for free but Graham refused. He purchased a Sinclair gas station as a side investment, but that venture did not work out as well as he had hoped. Meanwhile, he worked as a stockbroker. During that time, Buffett also took a Dale Carnegie public speaking course. Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach a night class at the University of Nebraska, "Investment Principles." The average age of the students he taught was more than twice his own.

1952: (22 years old)

* Buffett married Susan Thompson.

1954: (24 years old)

* Benjamin Graham offered Buffett a job at his partnership with a starting salary of $12,000 a year. Here, he worked closely with Walter Schloss.
* Susan had her first child, Howard Graham Buffett.

1956: (25 years old)

* Benjamin Graham retired and folded up his partnership.
* Buffett's personal savings are now over $140,000.
* Buffett returned home to Omaha and created Buffett Associates, Ltd., an investment partnership.

1957: (27 years old)

* Buffett had three partnerships operating the entire year.
* Buffett purchased a five-bedroom, stucco house on Farnam Street for $31,500.
* Susan was about to have her third child.

1958: (28 years old)

* Buffett had five partnerships operating the entire year.

1959: (29 years old)

* Buffett had six partnerships operating the entire year.
* Buffett was introduced to Charlie Munger.

1960: (30 years old)

* Buffett had seven partnerships operating the entire year.
* The partnerships were: Buffett Associates, Buffett Fund, Dacee, Emdee, Glenoff, Mo-Buff, and Underwood.
* Buffett asks one of his partners, a doctor, to find ten other doctors who will be willing to invest $10,000 each into his partnership. Eventually, eleven doctors agreed to invest.

1961: (31 years old)

* Buffett revealed that Sanborn Map Company accounted for 35% of the partnerships' assets.
* Buffett explained that in 1958, Sanborn sold at $45 per share when the value of the Sanborn investment portfolio was $65 per share. This meant buyers valued Sanborn at "minus $20" per share, and buyers were unwilling to pay more than 70 cents on the dollar for an investment portfolio with a map business thrown in for nothing.
* Buffett reveals that he earned a spot on the board of Sanborn.

1962: (32 years old)

* Buffett's partnerships, in January 1962, had in excess of $7,178,500 of which over $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett.
* Buffett merges all partnerships into one partnership.
* Buffett discovered a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett's partnerships began purchasing shares at $7.60 per share.

1965: (35 years old)

* When Buffett's partnerships began aggressively purchasing Berkshire they paid $14.86 per share while the company had working capital (current assets minus liabilities) of $19 per share, this did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment).
* Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at the board meeting and named a new President, Ken Chace, to run the company.

1966: (36 years old)

* Buffett closes the partnership to new money.
* Buffett wrote in his letter “unless it appears that circumstances have changed (under some conditions added capital would improve results) or unless new partners can bring some asset to the partnership other than simply capital, I intend to admit no additional partners to BPL.”
* In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn, and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store.

1967: (37 years old)

* Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents.

1969: (39 years old)

* Following his most successful year, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners. Among the assets paid out were shares of Berkshire Hathaway.

1970: (40 years old)

* As chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, began writing his now-famous annual letters to shareholders.

1973: (43 years old)

* Berkshire began to acquire stock in the Washington Post Company. Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham, who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper, and became a member of its board of directors.

1979: (49 years old)

* Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC. With the stock trading at $290 per share, Buffett's net worth neared $140 million. However, he lived solely on his salary of $50,000 per year.
* Berkshire began the year trading at $775 per share, and ended at $1,310. Buffett's net worth reached $620 million, placing him on the Forbes 400 for the first time.

1988: (58 years old)

* Buffett began buying stock in Coca-Cola Company, eventually purchasing up to 7 percent of the company for $1.02 billion. It would turn out to be one of Berkshire's most lucrative investments, and one which he still holds.

1999: (69 years old)

* Buffett is named the top money manager of the 20th century in a survey by the Carson Group, ahead of Peter Lynch and John Templeton.

2002: (72 years old)

* Buffett entered in $11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver US dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts was over $2 billion.

2004: (73 years old)

* His wife, Susan, dies.

2006: (75 years old)

* Buffett announced in June that he would give away more than 80%, or about $99 billion, of his $491 billion fortune to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006. The largest contribution will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

2007: (76 Years old)

* In a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor or perhaps successors to run his investment business. Buffett had previously selected Lou Simpson, who runs investments at Geico, to fill that role. However, Simpson is only six years younger than Buffett.

2008: (77 Years old)

* Buffett becomes the richest man in the world according to Forbes.

RMS Sri Lanka Visit BLOGS & PICS

http://budlite.blogspot.com/

http://www.web2media.net/laktek/2008/01/19/rms-in-sri-lanka/

Hard facts on free software with RMS

Richard Matthew Stallman, popularly known as “RMS”, the founder of the GNU Project and The Free Software Foundation (FSF), was in Sri Lanka this week. He is an American software freedom activist, a hacker, and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system. Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft and is the main author of several copyleft licences including the GNU General Public Licence, the most widely used free software license. He has also developed a number of pieces of, highly used development tools, including the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), the GNU symbolic debugger (GDB) and GNU Emacs. Stallman co-founded the League for Programmeming Freedom in 1989.
The Nation Economist was able to get a special interview with the software freedom activist. The following are excerpts.

(Q) What is Free Softwear?
(A) ‘Freedom’, I believe, is translated into Sinhala as “Nidahas.” Free Software means, software that respects the user’s freedom. The idea is that computer users should be free. The crucial issue is always: what are the essential freedoms that everyone should have?
They should have four essential freedoms.
• Freedom 1: The freedom to run the programme as you wish.
• Freedom 2: The freedom to study source code and modify the programme.
• Freedom 3: The freedom to copy the programme so you can help your neighbour.
• Freedom 4: The freedom to improve the programme, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
So this makes the software part of human knowledge. So you can adapt, extend and pass on to each other.

The other alternative is user subjective software or proprietary software/non-Free Software. Software that keeps users divided and helpless. If you are forbidden to share with people, then it is unethical to use it at all. Fundamentally, unethical, because it is attempting to divide people, and helpless, because the users don’t have the source code, as it is kept secret, so they can’t change anything, they can’t even tell what the programme is really doing. This is, fundamentally, unethical, because it is dividing people. These developers are keeping the users helpless. These are predatory practices, which resembles colonial systems. After all, how does colonization work? Divide and rule. Keep people divided and helpless, and then you can get what you want from them. That’s what proprietary software does. It keeps you divided, by saying you are not allowed to redistribute and they keep you helpless, by not giving you the source code. This gives developers power over the user. That power is unjust. Proprietary software is, fundamentally, wrong. The goal of the free software movement is to put an end to this injustice. Our aim is, there should be no proprietary software, that all software should be free. Users of software should have the freedom they want.

(Q) The term “Free Software” has been widely misunderstood. Is it software that is free of charge?
(A) Not necessarily. It is a misunderstanding. It is because, in English, we don’t have a good word for “Nidahas”. We only have the word “free” which can also mean “gratis”. So, it causes confusion. It even took me a few years to recognize these two different meanings of the word “free”, have to be carefully distinguished. In Sinhala and Tamil, these two words explain it well. You have to get the meaning of this word right. It’s not a matter of price at all. It’s a matter of freedom. So, if you think of free speech, it is not free bear, then you will understand free software. I have nothing against programmemers getting paid to write software. In fact, most software programmemers paid to write are not meant to be proprietary, it’s custom software. One client wants to use it and is paying for its development. And that is ethical, as long as the developers respect the client’s freedom. So, most of the software has nothing do with this question. But most users are using proprietary software. That means they are victims. They are under the power of developers, who are usually mega corporations, such as Microsoft, Apple, Dobby, Oracle. There are many of them, as in the case of European colonisation, like some countries managed to grab more colonies and others managed to grab a few colonies, but still, its wrong. So, rather than trying to judge which colonial power is better, we should put an end to it.

(Q) How did you learn to appreciate free software?
(A) It’s trivial for people who are naturally born programmemers. Once you get an idea of programmeming, it is obvious. I read manuals of computers and thought of programmeming. To learn, I had to do it. I was absolutely fascinated by it. By chance, at MIT, I met a free software community. In the lab, the software we had was free. We were happy to share it with anybody at any time.

(Q) Was this the Hackers’ community?
(A) That’s right. We called our selves hackers. To be a hacker meant that you were fascinated by computer programmeming. But, more generally, hacking meant and still means playful cleverness. So, if you enjoy finding opportunities to play at being clever and if you admire other people’s playful cleverness, then you are a hacker at heart.

(Q) But isn’t it unethical to hack?
(A) It might be, in some cases. But generally, no. This term was confused in the 1980s. When the world found out about hackers, they focused on one kind of activity some hackers do. Some hackers, sometimes, do things like breaking security. Why did hackers originally, start breaking security? Because, at University, there were administrators who would stop them from using the computers, usually, for stupid reasons. There would be a computer nobody is using. Then, there would be somebody with something interesting to do, using this computer. Administrators would oppose that person citing rules and regulations. So, this clever person, the hacker, who enjoyed playful cleverness, rather than beat his head against the wall, would just go around and use this computer anyway, for research. It was not a matter of harming anyone. Because, these computers were meant to be used by university students for work and interesting things. So the people who want to use these computers did not let the bureaucrats get in their way.

The reason that they did was because they were fascinated by programmeming and they loved playful cleverness. So, their solution to any problem would be playful cleverness. This was not anybody’s privacy. The computer did not belong to any person. It belonged to the university, for students to use it. They did not steal anything. It wasn’t a bank’s computer. It was just a computer facility at university, meant for research.

I am not in favour of theft. Its fine that banks should have security and I don’t want people to break that security. I don’t want anybody to take my money or your money.

(Q) What happened at AI Lab, once you stared working?
(A) Initially, we had a free software community and eventually, it died due to commercial outside intervention.

(Q) So, that means there were people who had made free software before you?
(A) For sure. It was just the people’s way of life. I did not invent free software. In fact, in the 1950s, lot of software was free. Because, nobody thought of restricting the user. Even in the 1970s, there was still a fair amount of free software. Some operating systems were free software. During the 70s, that mostly disappeared. And by the 1980s, the lab’s free operating systems became obsolete too. Our community died for other reasons.

So, I found myself facing the prospect of looking at the rest of my life without freedom, without community, without anything but, a world of ugliness. I did not want to live that way. I thought, I would make life ethical. I am going to fight for freedom. So I started the free software movement. I did not invent free software. I launched a movement to bring back the freedom to cooperate with other people.

(Q) What is GNU project?
(A) I want to be able to use computers that have freedom and cooperate with people. Computers won’t run without an operating system. There wasn’t one. So, I decided to develop one. I named it GNU. There were about 50 operating systems at that time, but none were free. There were many different kinds of computers with many different operating systems. They were different in technical ways but, in terms of freedom, they were all same.

(Q) When you founded the GNU project, what was the reaction of the public?
(A) The public did not react at all. But, some programmemers were enthusiastic, and volunteered to write part of the system. So, in 1990, we had most of a part of the system. But one important part was missing. That part was the kernel, the programme which allocates the computer’s resources to all the other programmes which it runs. It’s the lowest level of the system. The other parts runs on top.

1992 Linux, which is a kernel, was released. So, when we put together GNU, which was mostly complete and Linux, to fill the last gap, the result was free operating system, which was basically GNU, but contained Linux as well. So, GNU plus Linux is the fair name for it. And ever since, it has been possible to use computers free.

The Community is developing more and more free software. Here you find SAHARA, a rather noteworthy piece of free software developed for disaster coordinating activities. Developers of these can be in one continent, while its Users can be anywhere.

I personally don’t do much of programmeming now. There are many who develop free software now. Most important thing I do now is to spread the idea of freedom. I have always been a freedom fighter. In the 1980’s, the best way I could contribute is writing software, because there weren’t many of us then. What I contributed personally, was an important part in what we did in 1980. It was a substantial part.

(Q) What is the difference between “Free Software” and “Open Source”?
(A) Free Software and Open Source are the slogans of two different movements with different philosophies. In the free software movement, the goal is to be free to share and cooperate. We say that non-free software is antisocial, because it tramples the users’ freedom, and we develop free software to escape from that.

The Open Source movement promotes what they consider a technically superior development model that usually gives technically superior results. Free Software and Open Source are also both criteria for software licenses. These criteria are written in very different ways but, the licences accepted are almost the same. The main difference is the difference in philosophy.

(Q) What are your views on the IT sector in Sri Lanka?
(A) It’s difficult to say. I have been here only a few days. Yet, I can see Sri Lanka has the same problem as in the US, which is most people are using proprietary software. This is a social problem which needs to be corrected. Like Microsoft, they restrict users’ freedom. So, you should not use them. You should use software that can be used in freedom.

You get a lot of practical benefits by using free software. It is almost like having freedom of speech. The particle benefits you get are you don’t pay lots of money to mega corporations, and mega corporations can’t restrict you freedom, because they are using unauthorised copies. Trying to stop people from sharing is evil. Government should never allow that.

(Q) What is your advice to aspiring young software developers in Sri Lanka?
(A) My advice is don’t make the mistake of thinking about software only in terms of practical convenience. Don’t forget about freedom. Don’t forget about social solidarity. Anyone trying to stop you from sharing information, is trying to tax society. Don’t let them get away with it. If you develop software, respect the freedom of the user. Don’t try to subjugate other people and don’t let anybody subjugate you. You deserve to be free.

Rational: To be or not to be?

The question to be examined here is whether we should "wear rose-colored glasses" or not. That is, given the choice of whether to structure our lives so that we realistically apprize our options at all times or to try to filter out the harsh realism of life and to focus on the good points. This is not a trivial question. We are daily subjected to the continuing arguments between the liberals and the conservatives, the Larry Kings and the Rush Limbaughs, about what is best for humanity.

The arguments between the two groups are never resolved. It is as if they were on different planes of reality. Their views seem to be "orthogonal" to use a mathematical term. It is impossible for any argument to be resolved because of this disconnect. The conservative says, "But we are broke. We have no money for these massive welfare programs". The liberal responds with, "Why are you so hard? Why are you so cruel to these poor people?". Nothing can be resolved when their discussions remain on different planes.

But who is right and who is wrong? Or, if we are hesitant to assign "rightness" or "wrongness" to these approaches to life, then let us at least consider which way maximizes the enjoyment of life? In this essay, I will try to examine these two approaches without bias. I will try to be objective about these two highly emotional issues that divide society so much. I believe this to be a fairly novel approach. Just kidding.

The Two views Objectively defined

The Realistic View

In this section, I will try to describe the realistic, rational approach toward life (for our purposes here, I am equating the two terms). It is recognized that no person is always rational -- that there are degrees of rationality. "Full rationality" will be defined as a reference point, while acknowledging that most humans will be somewhat less severe than this.

A rational person would make a strong effort to determine all the significant facts necessary to make a particular decision before that decision is made.

A rational person would look at the facts behind every issue before making a decision no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable it might make him or her feel.

A rational person would clearly establish the criteria from which she will make decisions. The rational person would not knowingly have hidden agendas.

A rational person would accept the environment that she finds herself in and not try to mentally make it into something else, more desirable or less desirable.

A rational person accepts the reality of her ownself:she accepts her shortcomings as well as her talents.

The Blissful View

Many, if not most, people in the world are not comfortable with looking at life in such a hard realistic fashion. We, after all, are humans -- not animals. We have imagination. We can make the world appear better than it really is by our on way of looking at things.

A blissful person will try to mentally filter out the unpleasantness of life where possible.

A blissful person will take every opportunity to interpret events in a positive light if at all possible.

A blissful person believes that humans are inherently good, that life is good.

A blissful person attempts to avoid unpleasant things, discussions, etc. even if they are factual.

Characteristics and Differences of the two approaches to life

First off, we need to decide what do we really want out of life. Would you trade having greater happiness for having greater knowledge? Some people would and some would not. It seems that happiness, or just feeling good, is not necessarily the criteria for evaluating life's qualities for many people. Why do we like to watch scary or sad movies? Maybe we like to experience emotions that feel "bad" as well as those that feel "good". In any case, other than to point out this puzzlement regarding what is desired in life, I will leave the detailed discussion for another time.

Defence of the Realistic View

The principle defence of the Realistic approach is that it allows you to plan and to live a more purposeful life. It allows you to intelligently evaluate optional approaches.

On the negative side, it tends to destroy cooperation. Social studies confirm that a purely rational person will defect, or not cooperate, in many social situations. A rational person would not vote, for instance.

Certainly more realism is needed in dealing with politics. History has proven time and time again that the blissful disregard of the growth of political forces can be very hazardous to your health.

A disadvantage is that the truth may be most painful in some situations. More about this in the next section.

Defence of the Blissful View

Much of the reality of life is painful to accept. It may be that knowing the true characteristics of humans is just too depressing. Consider the situation with differences in races -- if there are real differences between the races are we not better off not knowing about them?

The mind is powerful. Why not take advantage of it. What our mind actually delivers is quite filtered. These mental "rose-colored" filters can make life go a lot easier.

For example, falling in love can certainly be a lot of fun! Do we really want to know that the concept of "falling in love" may be nonsense? The truth is, most of the great works of art -- especially the great love stories in books, movies and music -- that have given us so much pleasure, depend on assumptions about the natural sexual behavior of humans that do not hold up under close scrutiny. Maybe it is best to avoid any truthful analysis of that subject!

"Pay me now or pay me later." Many people live the blissful life in their youth to only have to pay some really costly dues later on. That is, the pleasure of blissful ignorance often is paid for, at a dear price, later on in life. That would say then that we really should look at the lifelong ramifications of wearing those rose-colored glasses.

It is obvious that erroneous beliefs sometimes provide pleasure and happiness. For example, suppose that I believe that my father and mother are the epitomes of virtue. This gives me great pleasure and makes my life fuller. Suppose then that, later in life and after they are gone, they are both exposed as being cheats, secretly addicted to drugs, and their wealth was obtained by fraud. Would that improve my life in any way? Would I not be better off not ever knowing about that?
Social Acceptance

If our friends and associates tend to have this particular view, we will be a lot more comfortable if we go along with. The truth is that this is the overriding factor for most people. The desire to be accepted by our group determines which church we chose, our dress and our philosophy.

Summary

So which life style should we chose? It would be best to leave this decision up to each individual. Certainly, much more study would be needed before I would make a recommendation. However, I will try to summarize here some of the more important ramifications of choosing one lifestyle over the other. If I have done my job here I will have created more questions than answers for it is apparent that most people have never considered the possibility of choosing between these two options. Instead they just blindly follow one approach or the other!

But first, let me point out, there is a problem with my attempts at helping you make a decision between "rationality" and "blissfulness". You will need to be rational to be able to make such a decision! What a dilemma that is!

Do we really know enough about life to make our decisions on purely rational, deterministic factors? I think not. Any aspect of philosophy, when examined closely, has a few holes. Facts about our surroundings are only roughly perceived.

How we are perceived by others has a big impact on the quality of our lives. To be realistic is to be perceived as a hard person. You will be constantly reminded to "Wake up and smell the roses". This can be annoying and diminishes the benefits of living the rational life.

On the other hand, to be blissfully ignorant about many of the hard realities of life and to make choices based on "filtered" or erroneous information, can be dangerous.

With many thanks to Leon Felkins

Motivation

In Loving Memory of RJ

CHAMPION OF SRI LANKA’S ICT INDUSTRY VIDYA JOTHI PROFESSOR V.K. SAMARANAYAKE PASSES AWAY

The ICT industry in Sri Lanka lost its most valued member after Professor V.K. Samaranayake passed away on Tuesday, 06^thJune 2007 aged 68.

Prof. Samaranayake was the Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka from 2004. He was also the Emeritus Professor of Computer Science of the University of Colombo. He was the founder Director, University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) of the University of Colombo. He served the University of Colombo for a continuous period of 43 years since his first appointment in 1961 immediately following his graduation from the same University. He was the founder of the Department of Statistics and Computer Science (DSCS) and of the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) of the University of Colombo. These two institutions were merged as the UCSC in 2002. He was a Fellow of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project and the National Centre for Digital Government of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. In 2005 he was a Visiting Fellow of the Digital Vision Program of Stanford University, USA.

Prof. Samaranayake served the Council for Information Technology (CINTEC), the apex National agency for IT in Sri Lanka as its Chairman for a period of 12 years. In the field of IT he has pioneered work on IT Policy, Legal Infrastructure, EDI/E-Commerce, Security, Internet Technology, Computer Awareness and IT Education. He was actively involved in the formulation of the ISO 10646 standard for Sinhalese Characters and in the development of multilingual web sites. He was also instrumental in helping to apply computers in many areas of governance, including in national elections. He was also actively involved in introducing ICT to rural communities and is engaged in developing Multipurpose Community Telecentres. He was a member of the advisory panel of the Asia IT&C program of the European Commission. He chaired the National Y2K Task force that coordinated the very successful crossover to year 2000. More recently he initiated the External Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) of the University of Colombo which in its very first year of operation has attracted 5000 registrations. He is the Chairman of the Project Management Committee of the SIDA funded project to enhance internet connectivity of Sri Lankan Universities. He was the President of the National Academy of Sciences during 1998-1999 and the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science during its golden jubilee in 1994. He is also current President of Infotel Lanka Society.

The Government of Sri Lanka has honoured Prof. Samaranayake for his contribution towards IT by the award of Vidya Prasadini in 1997 and the national honour Vidya Jyothi in 1998. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has presented its President's Award for International Cooperation to Prof. Samaranayake in 1996 in recognition of his contribution. At its convocation held in January 2005, the University of Colombo conferred on Prof. Samaranayake the Degree of Doctor of Science ( Honouris Causa ) for his outstanding contribution to the University.

Reshan Dewapura, COO, ICTA said: “Everyone in the ICT industry in Sri Lanka has either met or worked with Professor Samaranayake. It was his sense of commitment towards ICT development in the country coupled with his boundless energy that set him apart and allowed him to make lasting alliances and friendships both personally and professionally around the world. There is no doubt that Prof’s tireless commitment to the ICT industry has made his contribution over the years remarkable. He will be greatly missed.”

His remains will be brought to Sri Lanka and funeral arrangements will take place in Colombo.

Gilchirst cheated in World cup Finals - The match should be played again

"It has been revealed soon after the emphatic Australian win against Sri Lanka in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, that the star batsman and man of the match, Adam Gilchrist used a squash ball to improve his grip in his bottom hand. The confusing gestures he made soon after reaching his century before going on to make 149 out of 104 balls was to in fact, that the person who made the suggestion.

In light of the stellar performance of Gilchrist when every other batsman including Matthew Hayden failed to maintain a strike rate of 100%, this so called `squash-ball grip` becomes quite intriguing, if not illegal or cheating, I dare say. Consider this: Wicket keepers are only allowed to wear gloves with no webbing (except between the index finger & thumb). Fielders are
not allowed to wear gloves that might help them grip the ball better. Bowlers are not allowed to wear plaster on their fingers even if there is a genuine injury. Batsmen are only allowed approved gear for protection. A fielder needs to obtain the permission of the umpire prior to
leaving the field. A batsman must obtain the consent of the opposing captain to get a runner, even if there are obvious injuries preventing him from running.

Need I mention about banned substances that enhance performance? Clearly, Gilchrist used a non-traditional foreign object to enhance his grip. Perhaps even his mis-hits going over the boundary for a six is an example of the undue advantage gained by this enhanced grip. To say that a man who has been in poor form throughout the tournament just came back to stellar form during the all important final, and that the squash ball is just a coincidence is simply naïve.
After all, these are guys who wanted SLC investigated for a mere team selection policy. Had the roles been reversed, and Sanath Jayasuriya was the one with the squash-ball, I`m sure the cricketing world would be on fire now with all sorts of accusations fired at Sri Lanka for cheating.

I am quite surprised that no one has raised this issue yet. I hope that SLC and whoever is responsible will raise this issue, and if nothing else make sure that the rules governing such things are made clear for the future."

Source - BBC, CNN, lankanewspapers.com

Related Articles:

http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/churumuri-impact-adam-gilchrist-and-his-squash-ball/

http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/gillys-hidden-ball-helped-hit-more-4s-and-6s/

http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2007/05/01/how-legal-was-adam-gilchrists-hidden-ball/

http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2007/05/03/world-cup-finals-was-sri-lanka-vs-gilchrist/

INSIGHTFUL QUOTES FROM RANJIT (LOSER) FERNANDO

"What Jayasuriya will be trying to do is to hit the ball with the bat and get runs in order to win the match."

"If Ireland can get 8 or 9 quick wickets, they could be in with a chance."

"One would say that the team that scores more runs, should go on to win the game."

"It's a four. Oh no! He's out! He's clean bowled! I thought it went for four!"

More Quotes are welcome !

World Top 2 Professors killed in Virginia Tech Massacre - Part 3

Story Continues as another Professor found dead - Developing Story

An Indian professor was among the 33 killed in the Virginia Tech university shootout in the United States even as a student from India is feared to have met the same fate.

GV Loganathan, 51, hailing from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and an alumnus of IIT, Kanpur, was killed in the firing by a suspected Chinese student while he was taking classes at the university's Civil and Environmental Engineering department.

An Indian student, Minal Panchal, who has been missing since the incident on Monday, was also feared to be among the victims.

GV Loganathan

In the aftermath of a tragic day for Virginia Tech, we are still gathering information about the victims. However, it has been confirmed that Dr. G.V. Loganathan was shot and killed yesterday while teaching in Norris Hall. Evidently, the gunman entered multiple classrooms and systematically shot at students and faculty. The CEE 5324 Advanced Hydrology class was invaded by the gunman and there are multiple casualties among the students. We will share more information about the victims and survivors as they are confirmed. Our hearts go out to all of the VT families - students, staff, faculty, alumni, friends and families during this most difficult time.

By Dr. Randel Dymond

World Top 2 Professors killed in Virginia Tech Massacre - Part 2

Kevin P. Granata

Interests:

Dynamics, Neuromuscular Control, Biomechanical Stability, Systems Identification (Muscle and reflex dynamics), Biomimetric robotics

Education:
Ph.D., Biomechanics, The Ohio State University, 1993
M.S., Physics, Purdue University, 1986
B.S., Eng.Physics / Electr.Eng., The Ohio State University, 1984

Honors and Awards:

2005	College of Engineering Fellow
2005	VT Scholar of the Week (April)

Recent Publications:

1. Granata K.P, Slota G.P, Bennett B.C., Paraspinal Muscle Reflex Dynamics, Journal of Biomechanics, 37 (1), 241-247, 2004
2. Granata KP, Slota G, Wilson SE, Massimini A., Influence of Fatigue on Neuromuscular Control of Spinal Stability, Human Factors, 46, 1\81-91, 2004
3. Granata KP, Wilson SE, Massimini A, Gabriel R., Active Stiffness of the Ankle in Response to Inertial and Elastic Loads, Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 14 (5), 599-609, 2004
4. You SH, Granata KP. Bunker LK, Effects of Circumferential Ankle Pressure on Ankle Proporioception, Stiffness and Stability, Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 13 (8), 449-460, 2004
5. Tuzson A.E, Granata K.P, Abel M.F., Spastic Velocity Threshold Constrains Functional Performance in Cerebral Palsy, Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 84, 1363-1368, 2003
6. Granata K.P., Stiffness Control in the Simulation of Human Walking, 2001

Facilities:
Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory

Courses taught:
ESM 4224, Biodynamics and Control, Spring 2007.
ESM 5994, Research and Thesis, Spring 2007.
ESM 6225, Biodynamics & Control, Spring 2007.
ESM 7994, Research and Dissertation, Spring 2007.
ESM 6225, Biodynamics & Control, Spring 2006.
ESM 6226, Biodynamics & Control, Fall 2005.
ESM 6304, Advanced Vibrations, Fall 2005.
ESM 6225, Biodynamics & Control, Spring 2005.
ESM 6984, SS: Biodynamics and Control, Fall 2004.
ESM 5984, SS: Biodynamics & Control, Spring 2004.
ESM 5984, SS: Appl Biodynamics & Control, Fall 2003.

World Top 2 Professors killed in Virginia Tech Massacre - Part 1

From CNN - Developing Story:

Among the dead were professors Liviu Librescu and Kevin Granata, said Ishwar K. Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.

Librescu, an Israeli, was born in Romania and was known internationally for his research in aeronautical engineering, Puri wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Granata and his students researched muscle and reflex response and robotics. Puri called him one of the top five biomechanics researchers in the country working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview, citing e-mail he said students had sent to his family. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

Liviu Librescu

Interests:
Foundation and applications of the modern theory of shells incorporating non-classical effects and composed of advanced composite materials; Foundation of the theory and applications of sandwich type structures; Aeroelastic stability of flight vehicle structures;. Nonlinear aeroelasticity of structures in supersonic and hypersonic flow fields; Aeroelastic and structural tailoring; Dynamic response and instability of elastic and viscoelastic laminated composite structures 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 aeronautical and mechanical constructions; Response and behavior of structures to underwater and in-air explosions; Multifunctional and Functionally Graded material structures.

Education:
Ph.D., Institute of Fluid Mechanics, Academy of Science of Romania, 1969
M. A. Sc., Polytechnic Institute, Faculty of Aeronautical Engineering, Bucharest, 1953
B.S., Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania, Aeronautical Engineer, 1952

Honors and Awards:

2007	Invited Key Note Lecture at the 17th International Congress on Thermal Stresses, June 4-7, 2007, Taipei, Taiwan, “Joule Heating and its Implications on Crack Detection/Arrest in Electrically Conductive Circular Cylindrical Shells”.( Z. Qin, L. Librescu and D. Hasanyan)
2006	Awarded a diploma by the 17th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technology for the paper “Robust Aeroelastic Control of Composite Aircraft Wings in Incompressible Flow” by Yoon, G. C., Na, S. S., Librescu, L., and Baek, S. C., Taiwan, ICAST 2006, October 13-17.
2005	Appointed Chair of the International Organizing Committee of the 6th International Congress on Thermal Stresses '05 May 26-29, 2005, Vienna, Austria
2005	Invited Plenary Lecture at the 6th International Congress of Thermal Stresses '05 May 26-29, 2005, Vienna, Austria "Thin-Walled Beams Used in Turbomachinery and Space Applications Made-Up of Functionally Graded Materials and Operating in a High Temperature Environment: Vibration and Instability" by L. Librescu, S-Y Oh and O. Song
2005	Selected as a member of the Board of Experts of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research
2005	Awarded a diploma by the International Congress on Thermal Stresses, Vienna, Austria, May-June, 2005, ``In recognition for the achievements in the field of Thermal Stresses, for organizing the Fifth International Congress of Thermal Stresses, and for the contributions to the Journal of Thermal Stresses, as an author and as a member of the Editorial Board.''
2005	Awarded a diploma by the ASME, 20th Biennal Conference on Mechanical Vibration and Noise, Long Beach, CA, September 24-28, 2005 expressing the deep appreciation for the valuable services in advancing the engineering profession.''
2005	Frank J. Maher Award for Excellence in Engineering Education
2004	Plenary Key Note Lecture to the Third European Conference on Structural Control July 12-15. 2004, Vienna, Austria “Advances in the Linear/nonlinear Control of Aeroelastic Structural Systems” by L. Librescu and P. Marzocca
2003	Member of the Executive Committee of the International Congress of Thermal Stresses, (1999-2003) and re-appointed for (2003-2007)
2003	General Chair of the 5th International Congress of Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, June 8-11, 2003, Blacksburg, VA
2000	Recipient of the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania
2000	Elected member of the Academy of Sciences of the Shipbuilding of Ukraine
1999	Recipient of The 1999 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, College of Engineering VPI&SU
1999	Elected Foreign Fellow of the Academy of Engineering of Armenia
1998	Invited Plenary Lecture at the Session dedicated to the great Italian Scientist Professor Placido Cicala, Torino, June 25, 1998, Italia “Aeroelastic Tailoring of Advanced Aircraft Wings Carrying External Stores”, with Dr. F. H. Gern
1988	Plenary Key Note Lecture to the Second International Conference on Composite Science and Technology, June 9-11, 1998 Durban, South Africa” Recent Developments in the Modelling and Behavior of Advanced Sandwich Constructions”
1972	Laureate of the prize “Traian Vuia” of the Romanian Academy of Science

Professional Service:

Listing in Who's Who

Who's Who in America

Who's Who in Engineering

Who's Who in the World

Who's Who in Science and Engineering

Member of the Editorial Board of

2007 - Journal of Sound and Vibration

2004 - International Journal of Advanced Materials and Structures

2003 - Journal Mathematical Methods and Physic-Mechanical Fields

1999 - Journal Thin-Walled Structures

1998 - Journal of Thermal Stresses

1997 - International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics

1975 - Solid Mechanics Archives

Guest Editor for the Special Issues of the Journals

2006 - Journal of Mathematical Engineering (issues devoted to Thermomechanical Problems)

2004 - International of Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, Vol. 11, Nos. 4-5, Part I & II

2001 - Composite Structures, Vol. 52, 1, 2001

2001 - Thin-Walled Structures, Special Issue - New Advances in the Modelling and Application of Smart Thin-Walled Structures, Vol. 39, 1, 2001

2000 - Composites Engineering, Part B, Vol. 32, 3, 2000

Chair of the International Organizing Committee of

2005 - 6th International Congress on Thermal Stresses '05, May 26-29, Vienna, Austria

Co-Chair of the International Organizing Committee of

2007 - 7th International Congress on Thermal Stresses June 4-7, Taipei, Taiwan

2005 - Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, October 26-28, Nanjing, China

Member of the International Advisory Board of

2007 - Second International Symposium on Design Modelling and Experiments of Adaptive Structures and Smart Systems, DEMEASS II, October 14-17, Bad Herrenalb, Germany

2007 - Organizing Committee of the 70th Birthday of Jozef Ignaczak Symposium at the 7th International Congress on Thermal Stresses, Juen 4-7, Taipei, Taiwan

2006 - 2nd International Congress on Computational Mechanics and simulation (ICCM-06), December 8-10, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati,-781039, India

2006 - 1st International Symposium on Design Modelling and Experiments of Adaptive Structures and Smart Systems, DeMEASS I, June 10-12, Bardonecchia (Turin), Italy

2004 - 1st International Congress on Computational Mechanics and Simulation, IIT Kanpur, December 9-12, India

2004 - 2nd International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation, July 5-7, Cape Town, South Africa

2003 - 2nd International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Materials (ICAMM 2003), January 21-23, Durban, South Africa

1998 - 2nd Interntional Conference on Composite Science and Technology, June 9-11, Durban, South Africa

1996 - 1st International Conference, Composite Science Technology, June 18-20, Durham, South Africa

Member of the International Organizing Committee of

2005 - 6th International Congress of Thermal Stresses, May 26-29, Wien, Austria

2001 - 4th International Congress on Thermal Stresses, June 8-11, Osaka, Japan

1999 - 3rd International Congress on Thermal Stresses, June 13-17, Cracow, Poland

1982 thru 1985 - Israel National Conference on Aviation and Astronautics

Publications:

Books:

1. Librescu, L. and Song, O., Composite Thin-Walled Beams: Theory and Application, Springer, 615, 2005
2. Cederbaum, G., Elishakoff, I., Aboudi, J. and Librescu, L., Random Vibrations and Reliability of Composite Structures, Technomic Publishing Company, Inc., Lancaster-Basel, USA, pp. 191, 1992
3. Librescu, L., Elastostatics and Kinetics of Anisotropic and Heterogeneous Shell-Type Structures, Noordhoff International Publishing, Leyden, Netherlands, pp. 598, 1975
4. Librescu, L., Statics and Dynamic of Anisotropic and Heterogeneous Structures, (in Romanian), Publishing House of the Romanian Academy of Science, pp. 290, 1969

Book Chapters:

1. Hohe, J. and Librescu, L., On the Effect of Transverse Core Compressibility on the Buckling of Sandwich Shells, Theory of Plates and Shells, (Eds. R. Kienzler, H. Altenback and I. Ott), Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics, Springer Verlag, Vol. 16, pp. 61-68, 2004
2. Hasanyan, D., Librescu, L., Qin, Z. and Ambur, D. R., Flexural Wave Scattering at the Through Crack in a Current Carrying Plate, Problems of Mechanics of Deformable Body, (Edited by Professor V. S. Sarkisyan), Armenian Academy of Sciences, Bounded Volume Dedicated to Professor N. Ch. Harutyunyan, pp. 91-101, 2003
3. Hasanyan, D., Librescu, L. and Ambur, D. R., Nonlinear Vibration of Thermo-Elastic Plates in a Magnetic Field, Southampton, UK, WIT Press, Southampton, Boston, (Editor: Y. Shindo), Mechanics of Electromagnetic Material Systems and Structures, pp. 3-15, 2003
4. Librescu, L. and Hause, T., The Effects of Time-Dependent Pressure Pulses on Dynamic Response of Viscously Damped Anisotropic Sandwich Flat Panels in Problems of Mechanics of Thin Deformable Bodies, Published by the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Erevan, Armenia, pp. 200-214, 2002
5. Marzocca, P., Librescu, L. and Silva, W. A., Nondestructive Flutter Instability Prediction Using Combined Analytical-Experimental Procedure, Recent Advances in Experimental Mechanics, (Editor: E. E. Gdoutos), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, 2002

Journals:

1. G. Polli, L. Librescu and F. Mastroddi, Aeroelastic Response of Composite Aircraft Swept Wings Impacted by a Laser Beam, AIAA, Vol. 33, No, 2, pp. 382-391, 2006
2. Na, S. S., Librescu, L., Rim, S. N. and Yoon, G. C., Vibration and Dynamic Response Control of Non-Unifom Composite Rotating Blades, International Journal of Rotating Machinery, 2006, ID 13807, pp. 1-9, 2006
3. Librescu, L., Oh, S-Y. and Hohe, J., Dynamic Response of Anisotropic Sandwich Flat Panels to Underwater and In-Air Explosions, International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 43, No. 13, pp. 3794-3816, June, 2006
4. Hause, T. and Librescu, L., Flexural Free Vibration of Sandwich Flat Panels with Laminated Anisotropic Face Sheets, Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 297, Nos. 3-5, pp. 823-841, 2006
5. Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.,, Advances in the Linear/Nonlinear Control of Aeroelastic Structural Systems, Acta Mechanica, Vol. 178, Nos 3-4, pp. 147-186, 2005
6. Hohe, J. and Librescu, L., Advances in the Structural Modeling and Behavior of Sandwich Panels, Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, Vol. 11, No. 4-5, pp. 395-424, 2004
7. Librescu, L., Hasanyan, D. and Ambur, D. R., Electromagnetically Conducting Elastic Plates in a Magnetic Field: Modeing and Dynamic Implications, International Journal of Nonlinear Mechanics, Vol. 39, Issue 5, pp. 723-739, 2004
8. Librescu, L., Marzocca, P. and Silva, W. A., Linear/Nonlinear Supersonic Panel Flutter in a High Temperature Field, Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 918-924, 2004
9. Chandiramani, N. K., Librescu, L., Saxena, V. and Kumar, A., Optimal Vibration Control of a Rotating Composite Beam with Distributed Piezoelectric Sensing and Actuation, Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 13, pp. 433-442, 2004
10. Oh, S.Y., Librescu, L. and Song, O., Vibration and Instability of Functionally Graded Circular Cylindrical Spinning Thin-Walled Beams, Journal of Sound and Vibration, (in press), 2004
11. Librescu, L., Na, S., Marzocca, P., Chung C. and Kwak, M., Active Aeroelastic Control of 2-D Wing-Flap Systems Operating in an Incompressible Flowfield an Impacted by a Blast Pulse, Journal of Sound and Vibration, (in press), 2004
12. Hause, T. and Librescu, L., Dynamic Response of Anisotropic Sandwich Flat Panels to Explosive Pressure Pulses, International Journal of Impact Engineering, (in press), 2004
13. Hasanyan, D., Librescu, L., Qin, Z and Ambur D.R., Magneto-thermo-elastokinetics of Geometrically Nonlinear Laminated Composite Plates: Foundation of the Theory Part I, Journal of Sound and Vibration, (in press), 2004
14. Qin, Z., Hasanyan, D. Librescu, L. and Ambur, D.R., Magneto-thermo-elastokinetics of Geometrically Nonlinear Laminated Composite Plates: Vibration and Wave Propagation, Journal of Sound and Vibration, (in press), 2004
15. Hasanyan, D., Librescu, L., Qin, Z. and Ambur, D.R., Nonlinear Vibration of Finitely-Electroconductive Plate Strips in an Axial Magnetic Field, Computers & Structures, (in press), 2004
16. Librescu, L., Marzocca, P. and Silva, W. A., Aeroelasticity of 2-D Lifting Surfaces with Time-Delayed Feedback Control, Journal of Fluids and Structures, (in press), 2004
17. Na, S. S., Librescu, L. and Huang, H., Dynamics and Active Bending Vibration Control of Turbomachinery Rotating Blades Featuring Temperature-Dependent Material Properties, Journal of Thermal Stresses, Vol. 24, pp. 625-644, 2004
18. Hasanyan, D., Librescu, L. and Damodar, A., A Few Results on the Foundation of the Theory and Behavior of Nonlinear Magnetoelastic Plates Carrying an Electric Current, International Journal of Engineering Science, Vol. 42, Nos. 15-16, pp. 1547-1572, 2004
19. Chandiramani, N. K., Librescu, L., Saxena, V. and Kumar, A., Optimal Vibration Control of a Rotating Composite Beam with Distributed Piezoelectric Sensing and Actuation, Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 13, pp. 433-442, 2004
20. Marzocca, P., Librescu, L. and Silva, W. A., Time-Delay Effects on Linear/Nonlinear Feedback Control of Simple Aeroelastic Systems, Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamic, (in press), 2004
21. Librescu, L., Oh, S-Y and Hohe, J., Linear and Non-Linear Dynamic Response of Sandwich Panels to Blast Loading, Composites B, Special Issue on Marine Composites, Vol. 35, No. 6-8, pp. 673-683, September, 2004
22. Yuan, Y., Yu, P., Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P., Aeroelasticity of Time-Delayed Feedback Control of 2-D Supersonic Lifting Surfaces, Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp. 797-803, 2004
23. Na, S. S., Librescu, L. and Shim, J. H., Modified Bang-Bang Vibration Control Applied to Adaptive Thin-Walled Beam Cantilevers, AIAA Journal, Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 1717-1721, 2004
24. Marzocca, P., Silva, W. A. and Librescu, L., Non-Linear Open/Closed Loop Aeroelastic Analysis of Airfoil via Volterra Series, AIAA Journal, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 673-686, 2004
25. Hohe, J. and Librescu, L., Core and Face-Sheet Anisotropy in Deformation and Buckling of Sandwich Panels, AIAA Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 149-158, January, 2004
26. Qin, Z., Librescu, L., Hasanyan, D. and Ambur, D. R., Magnetoelastic Modeling of Circular Cylindrical Shells Immersed in a Magnetic Field, Part I: Magnetoelastic Loads Considing Finite Dimensional Effects, International Journal of Engineering Science, Vol. 41, pp. 2005-2022, 2003
27. Librescu, L., Oh, S-Y., and Song, O., Spinning Thin-Walled Beams Made of Functionally Graded Materials: Modeling, Vibration and Instability, European Journal of Mechanics A/Solids, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 499-515, 2003
28. Na, S. S., Librescu, L. and Shim, J. K., Modeling and Bending Vibration Control of Nonuniform Thin-Walled Rotating Beams Incorporating Adaptive Capabilities, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 1347-1367, 2003
29. Chandiramani, N. K., Shete, C. D. and Librescu, L., Vibration of Higher-Order Shearable Pretwisted Rotating Composite Blades, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 45, pp. 2017-2041, 2003
30. Librescu, L., Qin, Z. and Ambur, D. R., Implications of Warping Restraint on Statics and Dynamics of Elastically Tailored Thin-Walled Composite Beams, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, Vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 1247-1267, 2003
31. Oh, S. Y., Librescu, L. and Song, O., Vibration of Turbomachinery Rotating Blades Made-up of Functionally Graded Materials and Operating in a High Temperature Field, Acta Mechanica, Vol. 166, No. 2, pp. 69-87, 2003
32. Song, O., Yoon, I. and Librescu, L., Thermally Induced Bending Vibration of Composite Spacecraft Booms Subjected to Solar Heating, Journal of Thermal Stresses, Vol. 26, No. 8, pp. 829-843, August, 2003
33. Qin, Z., Hasanyan, D., Librescu, L. and Ambur, D. R., Magnetoelastic Modeling of Circular Cylindrical Vibration, International Journal of Engineering Science, Vol. 41, pp. 2023-2046, 2003
34. Qin, Z. and Librescu, L., Aeroelastic Instability of Aircraft Wings Modeled as Anisotropic Composite Thin-Walled Beams in Incompressible Flow, Journal of Fluids and Structures, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 43-61, August, 2003
35. Librescu, L., Hasanyan, D., Qin, Z. and Ambur, D. R., Nonlinear Magneto-Thermo-Elasticity of Anisotropic Plates Immersed in a Magnetic Field, Journal of Thermal Stresses, Vol. 26, Nos. 11-12, pp. 1277-1304, November-December, 2003
36. Qin, Z. and Librescu, L., Dynamic Aeroelastic Response of Aircraft Wings Modeled as Anisotropic Thin-Walled Beams, Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 532-543, 2003
37. Oh, S. Y., Song, O. and Librescu, L., Effects of Pretwist and Presetting on Coupled Bending Vibrations of Rotating Thin-Walled Composite Beams, International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 40, pp. 1203-1224, 2003
38. Oh, S. Y., Librescu, L. and Song, O., Thermoelastic Modeling and Vibration of Functionally Graded Thin-Walled Rotating Blades, AIAA Journal, Vol. 41, No. 10, pp. 2051-2060, 2003
39. Hohe, J. and Librescu, L., A Nonlinear Theory for Doubly Curved Anisotropic Sandwich Shells with Transversely Compressible Core, International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 40, pp. 1059-1088, 2003
40. Qin, Z., Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P., Aeroelasticity of Composite Aerovehicle Wings in Supersonic Flow, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 162-173, 2003

Conferences:

1. S. S. Na, L. Librescu and M. Kwak, Thermally-Induced Vibration Control of Rotating Composite Thin-Walled Blades, 24th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan, ICAS 2004-5.1-3, 2004
2. S-Y Oh, L. Librescu and O. Song, Thin-Walled Rotating Composite Blades Featuring Extension-Twist Elastic Coupling, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004-2049, 2004
3. P. Marzocca and L. Librescu, Flutter/Aeroelastic Response of Panels via a Combined Galerkin-Volterra Series Approach, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004-1855, 2004
4. O. Song, I. Yoon and L. Librescu, Vibration Control of Composite Spacecraft Booms Exposed to Solar Radiant Heating, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004-1974, 2004
5. D. Hasanyan, L. Librescu and D. Ambur, Vibration of Nonlinear Magneto-Thermo-Elastic Laminated Composite Plates, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), AIAA-2004-1617, Palm Springs, CA, 2004
6. Z. Qin, L. Librescu and D. Ambur, Magneto-Elastodynamic Effects on Stress Displacement Distributions of Cracked Electrodonductive Plates, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004-1623, 2004
7. S. Na, L. Librescu, P. Marzocca and C. Chung, Aeroelastic Response of Flapped Wing System Using Robust Control Methodology, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004 1673, 2004
8. P. Yu, Y. Yuan, L. Librescu and P. Marzocca, Single/Double Hopf Bifurcation and Aeroelastic Instability of a 2-D Supersonic Lifting Surface with Time Delayed Feedback Control, 45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004-1752, 2004
9. D. Kim, I. Lee, P. Marzocca and L. Librescu, Linear/Nonlinear Aeroelastic Computation of 2-D Lifting Surfaces Using a Combined CFD/Analytical Approach, 45th AIAA/ASCE/ASCE/AHS/ASC, (CD-Rom), Palm Springs, CA, AIAA-2004-1752, 2004
10. S-Y. Oh, L. Librescu and O. Song, Thin-Walled Rotating Blades Made of Functionally Graded Materials: Thermoelastic Modeling and Vibration Analysis, of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds. Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 1, MA-2-5-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
11. D. Hasanyan, L. Librescu and D. Ambur, Nonlinear Vibration of Finitely Electroconductive Plate-Strips in a Magnetic Field, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Gossamer Spacecraft Forum, Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1712, 2003
12. L. Librescu, S. S. Na, P. Marzocca, C. Chung and M. Kwak, Active Aeroelastic Control of 2-D Wing-Flap Systems in an Incompressible Flow Field, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Fossamer Space Forum, (CD-Rom), Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1414, 2003
13. P. Marzocca and L. Librescu, Nonlinear Time Delayed Feedback Control of Aeroelastic Systems: A Functional Approach, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Gossamer Spacecraft Forum, (CD-Rom), Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1867, 2003
14. T. Hause and L. Librescu, Thermoelastic Response of Doubly-Curved Sandwich Panels Under a Temperature Gradient, Transverse Load and Edge Compression/Tension, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds., Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 2, WM1-2(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
15. Y. Yuan, P. Yu, L. Librescu and P. Marzocca, Analysis of a 2-D Supersonic Lifting Surface with Time Delay Feedback Control, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Gossamer Spacecraft Forum, (CD-Rom), Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1733, 2003
16. O. Song, I. Yoon and L. Librescu, Thermally Induced Vibration Control of Composite Spacecraft Booms via Piezoelectric Strain Actuation, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds. Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 1, MM-4-3-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
17. J. Hohe and L. Librescu, A Higher-Order Geometrically Nonlinear Sandwich Shell Theory Accounting for Transverse Compressibility of the Core, Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Sandwich Structures, (Eds.: Vinson, J. R. Rajapakse, Y. D.S. and Carlsson, L. A.), Ft. Lauderdale, FL, pp. 796-805, March 31 - April 2, 2003
18. Z. Qin, L. Librescu, D. Hasanyan and D. Ambur, Circular Cylindrical Shells Immersed in a Magnetic Field: Modeling and Dynamic Behavior, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Gossamer Spacecraft Forum, (CD Rom), Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1690, 2003
19. N. Chandramani, C. Shete and L. Librescu, Optimal Control of Pretwisted Shearable Smart Composite Rotor Blades, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Gossamer Spacecraft Forum, (CD-Rom), Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1540, 2003
20. S. Oh, L. Librescu and O. Song, Thin-Walled Rotating Blades Made of Functionally Graded Materials: Modeling and Vibration Analysis, 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 11th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 5th AIAA Non-Deterministic Approaches Forum, 4th AIAA Gossamer Spacecraft Forum, (CD-Rom), Norfolk, VA, AIAA-2003-1541, 2003
21. P. Chelu and L. Librescu, Wavelet Technique Applied to Dynamic Response of Thin-Walled Composite Booms Exposed to Solar Radiation, Part I: Theoretical Formulation, Part II: Solution Methodology, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds. Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 2, WA-6-4-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
22. S. Na, L. Librescu and H. Jung, Vibration Control of Rotating Composite Thin-Walled Beams in a Temperature Environment, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds., Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 2, WA-6-4-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
23. L. Librescu, P. Marzocca and W. A. Silva, Linear/Nonlinear Aeroelastic Behavior of Thermally Damaged Flat Panels in a Supersonic Flow Field, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds. Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 2, WA-2-1-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
24. L. Librescu, D. Hasanyan and Z. Qin, Nonlinear Magneto-Thermo- Elasticity of Laminated Composite Plates Immersed in a Magnetic Field, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics,” Blacksburg, VA, (Eds., Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 2, WA-4-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
25. Z. Qin, L. Librescu, D. Hasanyan and D. Ambur, Electroconductive Composite Circular Cylindrical Shells Subjected to Magnetoelastic and Thermomechanical Loadings: Nonlinear Response and Stability, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics,” Blacksburg, VA, (Eds., Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 1, MA-3-2(1-4), June 8-11, 2003
26. L. Librescu, S-Y Oh, and J. Hohe, Dynamic Response of Anisotropic Sandwich Panels to Explosive Blast Loading, 18th Annual Technical Conference, American Society for Composites University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Paper 123, October 19-22, 2003
27. T. Hause and L. Librescu, Thermoelastic Response of Doubly-Curved Sandwich Panels Under a Temperature Gradient, Transverse Load and Edge Compression/Tension, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Thermal Stresses and Related Topics, Blacksburg, VA, (Eds. Librescu, L. and Marzocca, P.), Vol. 1, MM-4-3-(1-4), June 8-11, 2003

Reports:

1. L. Librescu, S-Y. Oh and J. Hohe, Dynamic Response of Submerged Sandwich Flat Panels to an Explosive Blade: Implications of Transverse Compressibility of the Core, Y. D. S. Rajapakse, Marine Composite and Sandwich Structures, ONR-Review, (Ed. Y. D. S. Rajapakse), University of Maryland, March 24-26, 2004

Courses taught:
ESM 3154, Solid Mechanics, Spring 2007.
ESM 5074, Mech Lam Comp Str, Spring 2007.
ESM 5994, Research and Thesis, Spring 2007.
ESM 7994, Research and Dissertation, Spring 2007.
ESM 6044, Theory of Plates and Shells, Fall 2006.
ESM 6044, Theory of Plates and Shells, Fall 2005.
ESM 2304, Dynamics, Spring 2005.
ESM 5074, Mech Lam Comp Str, Spring 2005.
ESM 6044, Theory of Plates and Shells, Fall 2004.
ESM 2304, Dynamics, Spring 2004.
ESM 6044, Theory of Plates and Shells, Fall 2003.