IN MEMORIAM

Rokuro “Rocky” Muki

Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Emeritus

Los Angeles

1928—2004

Rokuro (“Rocky”) Muki passed away peacefully at his home on February 10, 2004 after an extended battle with lymphoma. Thus, a productive career with significant accomplishments in the field of solid mechanics came to an end. He was not only admired as a scholar but, more fondly, as a gentleman in the best sense of the word. He was indeed a very gentle and considerate person.

 

Rokuro Muki was born April 27, 1928, in Morioka, Japan, the second of seven children. He earned in B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1951 and his Ph.D. degree in 1959, both from Keio University in Tokyo. His doctoral dissertation "On Some Three-Dimensional Problems in Thermoelasticity" was carried out under the supervision of his mentor, Professor Toyotaro Suhara. His supreme command of elasticity and applied mathematics were clearly seen in the many papers resulting from his doctoral investigations that were published in Japanese journals and proceedings in the 1950's. It was during this time that Muki began to apply integral transform methods to the solution of boundary value problems. This endeavor won the praise of Professor Ian Sneddon, the acknowledged master of such methods in the solution of problems in mathematical physics. The essence of a very important part of his work led to a major publication that appeared as one chapter in the first volume of the series Progress of Solid Mechanics, edited by Professors Ian Sneddon and Rodney Hill. The title of this article was "Asymmetric Problem of Theory of Elasticity for a Semi-Infinite Solid and a Thick Plate." In it, Muki's ample mathematical skills and rigor and his meticulous attention to details are clearly demonstrated. This article remains to date as the defining work on this particular subject.

 

In 1958, Muki came to the United States as a visiting research associate for the renowned academician Eli Sternberg at Brown University. Thus, began a most productive solid mechanics collaboration, which would extend over the next ten years. After spending two years at Brown, Muki returned to Japan to the position of associate professor at his alma mater, Keio University, a post he held until 1965. He then was re-united with Professor Sternberg at Caltech. There, he held the titles of Visiting Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow. They produced a number of important and much cited publications on subjects of load diffusion, load transfer, and thermo-viscoelasticty. Sternberg personally indicated to one of his colleagues that Muki was the most congenial and easiest person to work with. Anyone with any knowledge of Sternberg as a serious scholar, and as someone whose quest for clarity and preciseness in the pursuit of a research topic is virtually unrivaled, will realize that his opinion of Muki represented the ultimate compliment. It speaks volumes of not only Muki’s mathematical and technical skills, but also of his many personal qualities, his cordiality, patience, and his willingness to listen and hear everything out. The Muki and Sternberg families remained close in the many years following this collaboration.

 

In 1967, Rokuro Muki joined the faculty of UCLA’s College of Engineering as associate professor. He was quickly promoted to full professor in 1969. At UCLA, he had a long record of teaching and research in solid mechanics and applied mathematics. He served on many committees and contributed much in the area of university service. His research with graduate students and colleagues spanned the subjects of stresses in lap joints and bond mechanics, asymptotic behaviors and applications to static and dynamic behaviors by global local finite element analyses. He was very resourceful when it came to conquering boundary value problems and his knowledge of the technical literature was expansive.

 

Rocky’s contributions to the field, earned him an outstanding reputation and the admiration of many top ranked scholars in solid mechanics. While his accomplishments were many, he remained humble throughout his life relative to his professional standing among his peers. In addition to Sneddon and Sternberg, he made friends and earned the respect of many others, including Richard Shields, James Knowles, Milton Plesset, Mortin Gurtin, Raymond Mindlin, Tung Hua Lin and K. Washizu.

 

Muki was a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Society of Sigma Xi and the American Academy of Mechanics, where he was a Fellow.

 

Rokuro Muki retired from UCLA in 1993, but remained active. He began collaborative research with Professors Y. Miyano and M. Nakada of the Kanazawa Institute of Technology in Japan. Almost annually, he traveled to Japan to participate in a series of projects involving the prediction of strength and life of carbon fiber-reinforced composite structures under various load and temperature environments.

 

But as noted at the outset, it is Rocky’s personal attributes that define the very essence of this gentleman. He married Kiyo Tanimoto in 1956, and for almost 48 years they remained devoted to each other. They complemented each other perfectly. Rocky was good at abstract engineering problems, but Kiyo was the organizer of their lives, the supporting partner and, of course, the caregiver when Rocky’s health failed. Their children, son Yoshio and daughter Mari, were his pride and joy. Their home was always open to friends, colleagues, students, and to visiting scholars at UCLA who were far from home, especially during the holiday seasons.

 

With his colleagues Rocky was always kind, gentle and very considerate. He always had time for others to discuss any and all matters. He loved books, particularly biographies of famous individuals. His library included books about von Karman, Riemann, Noether, Hilbert, Abraham Lincoln, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Yukichi Fukuzawa, Rachel Carson, Albert Einstein, and from more recent years, Jimmy Carter, John Wooden and Lance Armstrong, among others. A view of bookshelves at his home shows a broad range of topics from geography to Chinese poetry, American proverbs, world history, and classic American authors. You will find authors like Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, James Michener, J.D. Salinger and, if you were one of his students, you probably would be aware that his very favorite was E.B. White, and that Elements of Style was almost a bible to him. He had many art books as well. His favorite artists included Grandma Moses, Mary Cassatt and Marc Chagall. His many books are all well-worn, showing many years of gentle and constant use.

 

In retirement Rocky also turned his attention to the game of GO, and he studied all of its intricacies. Gardening was another passion. For him, gardening was not so much to create a beautiful garden, but to grow delicious fruits and vegetables to put on the table and to share with friends and family. In fact, the one thing that he was proud of in his backyard was the compost heap. So obviously, his garden was not meant to be a quaint English garden to stroll through. His zucchinis, bell peppers, cucumbers and especially his tomatoes were the best, and sharing those with his friends and family gave him the greatest pleasure and pride. He also enjoyed exploring Southern California with Kiyo and admiring the natural beauty of the landscape.

 

Even in the face of the advancing disease Rocky worked on his research and his garden, and continued his drives through the countryside. He kept his eyes towards the future, never seeming to be concerned with his present physical state. He remained an optimist to the end, and a source of inspiration to his friends and colleagues.

 

 

S. B. Dong

L. P. Felton

J. Glater