Dear Colleagues and Students,
I am writing to share the sad news that Ilinca Stanciulescu, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently passed away after battling cancer.
Ilinca, a native of Bucharest, Romania, joined Rice in 2009. During her tenure with the university, she taught Nonlinear Finite Element Method Analysis; Advanced Mechanics of Materials; and Elasticity, Plasticity and Damage Mechanics. She also conducted research on computational mechanics (nonlinear finite elements), constitutive modeling of materials, multiscale and multiphysics formulations, nonlinear dynamics and stability of complex systems.
Some of Ilinca’s long-standing work was with Jane Grande-Allen, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering. The duo designed bio-inspired materials to replace the tissues found in the body such as heart valves and blood vessels.
Ilinca is remembered by Jane and her colleagues and students as a passionate educator, researcher and mentor.
Stanley C. Moore Professor in Engineering Jamie Padgett said Ilinca gave selflessly to her students as a teacher and research mentor, and was generous with her time, genuine in her commitments and thoughtful with her feedback.
George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Pedro Alvarez described Ilinca as a bright scholar and a great colleague who was committed to excellence in everything she did.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Chair and Herman Brown Professor of Engineering Philip Bedient said throughout her career at Rice, Ilinca helped promote the university to visitors and interview prospective candidates, and that she was amazingly thoughtful, kind and friendly in all of her interactions.
Prior to joining Rice, Ilinca served as an assistant professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and as a postdoctoral research associate in the Duke University Computational Mechanics Laboratory.
She earned her doctorate in civil engineering from Duke, a master of science degree in advanced methods in structural analysis and a bachelor's degree in structural engineering from the Technical University of Civil Engineering in Bucharest, and a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Bucharest University.
Ilinca will be missed and remembered by her Rice family. Services for Ilinca are pending. Read more about her and her accomplishments at the university in Rice News.
Kind regards,
Reginald DesRoches, Provost