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From the obituary by Anil K. Chopra, published in Earthquake Engineering & Dynamic Response, Vol. 46, No. 1, January 2017 (For more see the link: Prof. Ray W. Clough):
Immediately after completion of his doctoral studies, Ray came to Berkeley as an Assistant Professor. Despite receiving numerous offers from other universities, his entire academic career was at Berkeley until he retired from teaching in 1987. Ray's contributions in teaching, research and consulting during 1950–1995 in the fields of finite element analysis, structural dynamics and earthquake engineering have been monumental.
Perhaps his most important research contribution in structural engineering was as a co‐developer in the “Finite Element Method” beginning with a classic paper in 1956. With the advent of digital computers the finite element method forever revolutionized the field of structural analysis and design. The method has been extended to many fields of engineering and makes it possible to analyze complex systems of many different kinds, including those encountered in design and safety evaluation of structures, and in aircraft, automobile, nuclear and oil industries. Because of the fundamental nature of the finite element concept, researchers in diverse fields of applied science and engineering recognized its potential in solving problems in their respective fields.
Ray Clough received numerous honors. He was elected to both the National Academy of Engineering (in 1968, only four years after its inception) and the National Academy of Sciences, a rare distinction. He was elected to the Royal Norwegian Scientists Society, received Honorary Doctoral degrees from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway. From the American Society of Civil Engineers, he received the Huber Research Prize, the Howard Award, the Newmark Medal, the Moisseiff Award, and the Norman Medal. The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute honored him with their highest award: the Housner Medal. The University of California, Berkeley, honored him by appointing him to the first endowed chair in engineering as Nishkian Professor of Structural Engineering (1983), and awarded him the Berkeley citation at his retirement in 1987. He received the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest award in science and engineering, at the White House in 1994.
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