Frithiof I Niordson
Frithiof Niordson was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1922 of Swedish-Russian parentage. Most of his formative years were spent in Sweden, and he graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) with a MSc in 1945. As he describes in his article, he was invited to serve as a replacement for Folke Odqvist, during a period of absence from KTH of his teacher and internationally known professor. This was the beginning of his own prominent career in Scandinavia.
Shortly after Odqvist’s return to Stockholm, Niordson departed for Brown University to obtain a PhD in solid mechanics under William Prager. This was the Golden Era of mechanics at Brown, as Niordson and many of his fellow graduate students from that period are fond of claiming. Indeed, during his period at Brown, Niordson established friendships with many colleagues who would later spend sabbatical periods in Copenhagen, where Niordson...
