O. C. Zienkiewicz was one of the early pioneers of the finite element method and is internationally recognized as a leading figure in its development and wide-ranging application. He was awarded numerous honorary degrees, medals and awards over his career, including the Royal Medal of the Royal Society and Commander of the British Empire (CBE). He was a founding author of The Finite Element Method books and developed them through six editions over 40 years up to his death in 2009. Previous positions held by O.C. Zienkiewicz include UNESCO Professor of Numerical Methods in Engineering at the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Barcelona, Director of the Institute for Numerical Methods in Engineering at the University of Wales, Swansea, U.K.
