{{Short description|Danish mechanical engineer and academic}}
{{Infobox scientist | name = Ole Sigmund | birth_name = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1966|5|28}} | birth_place = | other_names = | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = | fields = {{hlist|Mechanical Engineering|Applied Mechanics|Solid Mechanics}} | workplaces = {{Plainlist|* Technical University of Denmark}} | patrons = | alma_mater = {{Plainlist|* Technical University of Denmark}} | thesis_title = Design of Material Structures using Topology Optimization | thesis_url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261173987_Design_of_Material_Structures_Using_Topology_Optimization | thesis_year = 1994 | doctoral_advisor = Martin P. Bendsøe, Pauli Pedersen, Jon Juel Thomsen | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = Topology optimization | influences = | influenced = | awards = {{Plainlist|* Gorm Pedersens Memorial Prize (1996) * ISSMO/Springer Prize for Young Scientists (1999) * Statoil Prize (2000) * Grundfos Prize<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grundfos.com/about-us/news-and-press/news/grundfos-prize-for-young-danish-scientist.html|title=Grundfos Prize for young Danish scientist|website=Grundfos|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> (2002) * European Young Investigator Award<ref name="ufm">{{cite web|url=https://ufm.dk/forskning-og-innovation/forskningsformidling/eliteforsk/prismodtagere/tidligere-prismodtagere/prismodtagere-2008/ole-sigmund|title=Ole Sigmund|website=Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet|language=da|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> (2004) * EliteForsk Prize<ref name="ufm" /> (2008) * Villum Kann Rasmussen Prize<ref name="villumaward">{{cite web|url=https://veluxfoundations.dk/da/node/4229|title=Previous recipients of the annual award|date=2017-03-22|website=VELUX Foundations|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> (2010) * VILLUM Investigator<ref name="villumproject">{{cite web|url=https://www.topopt.mek.dtu.dk/Projects/InnoTop|title=InnoTop|website=TopOpt, Technical University of Denmark|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> (2017) * Fellow of ISSMO<ref name="issmofellow">{{cite web|url=https://www.issmo.net/fellows-of-issmo/|title=Fellows of ISSMO|website=International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> (2025) }} | website = {{URL|www.topopt.dtu.dk}} | footnotes = | spouse = | children = }}
'''Ole Sigmund''' (born 28 May 1966) is a Danish mechanical engineer and professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).<ref name="orbit">{{cite web|url=https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/persons/ole-sigmund/|title=Ole Sigmund|website=DTU Orbit|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> His research focuses on topology optimization and has also extended to photonics and third medium contact formulations.<ref name="topoptbook">{{cite book|url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783540429920|title=Topology Optimization: Theory, Methods, and Applications|first1=Martin Philip|last1=Bendsoe|first2=Ole|last2=Sigmund|date=2004-04-13|publisher=Springer-Verlag|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref><ref name="photonics2023">{{cite web|url=https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/impact-of-figures-of-merit-in-photonic-inverse-design/|title=Impact of figures of merit in photonic inverse design|website=DTU Research Database|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref><ref name="tmc2021">{{cite web|url=https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/internal-contact-modeling-for-finite-strain-topology-optimization/|title=Internal contact modeling for finite strain topology optimization|website=DTU Research Database|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref> He co-authored the 2003 book ''Topology Optimization: Theory, Methods, and Applications'' with Martin P. Bendsøe.<ref name="topoptbook" /> He served as president of the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO) from 2011 to 2015 and was named to the inaugural class of Fellows of ISSMO in 2025.<ref name="napbio">{{cite book|title=Exploiting Advanced Manufacturing Capabilities: Topology Optimization in Design: Proceedings of a Workshop|chapter=Appendix D: Biographical Information|publisher=National Academies Press|location=Washington, DC|year=2022|doi=10.17226/26362|url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/26362/chapter/13}}</ref><ref name="issmofellow" />
== Education == Sigmund received an MSc in 1991, a PhD in 1995, and a Dr.Techn. degree in 2001, all from DTU.<ref name="dtucv">{{cite web|url=https://findit.dtu.dk/cvuploads/2278/oscv.pdf|title=Curriculum Vitae|website=Technical University of Denmark|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref>
== Career == After research positions at the University of Essen and Princeton University, Sigmund continued his academic career at DTU, where he became professor in 2010.<ref name="napbio" /><ref name="dtucv" /> He was a visiting researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2012.<ref name="dtucv" />
From 2004 to 2010 he chaired the Danish Center for Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (DCAMM), and from 2011 to 2015 he served as president of ISSMO.<ref name="napbio" /> He is a VILLUM Investigator supported by the Villum Foundation, a member of DTU's Board of Governors, and a member of the EUROMECH Council.<ref name="villum2023">{{cite web|title=Grants of 89 million Danish kroner for three DTU researchers|url=https://www.dtu.dk/english/news/all-news/grants-of-89-million-danish-kroner-for-three-dtu-researchers?id=ae804623-60dd-4987-99dc-964251fbcc78|website=Technical University of Denmark|date=2023-04-19|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref><ref name="board">{{cite web|title=Board of Governors|url=https://www.dtu.dk/english/About/ORGANIZATION/Board_of_Governors|website=Technical University of Denmark|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref><ref name="euromech">{{cite web|title=Members of the Council|url=https://euromech.org/structure/council/|website=EUROMECH|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref>
His later work has also included photonics, including photonic inverse design, as well as co-authored extensions of the third medium contact method for topology optimization, including frictional formulations and three-dimensional contact problems.<ref name="photonics2023" /><ref name="tmc2021" /><ref name="tmcfriction">{{cite web|url=https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/adding-friction-to-third-medium-contact-a-crystal-plasticity-insp/|title=Adding friction to Third Medium Contact: A crystal plasticity inspired approach|website=DTU Research Database|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref><ref name="tmc3d">{{cite web|url=https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/improved-third-medium-formulation-for-3d-topology-optimization-wi/|title=Improved Third Medium Formulation for 3D Topology Optimization with Contact|website=DTU Research Database|access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref>
A 2022 National Academies Press workshop volume described Sigmund, together with Noboru Kikuchi and Martin Bendsøe, as one of the founders and main contributors to the development of topology optimization methods in academia and industry.<ref name="napbio" />
== Honors and recognition == Sigmund received the European Young Investigator Award in 2004, the EliteForsk Prize in 2008, and the Villum Kann Rasmussen Prize in 2010.<ref name="ufm" /><ref name="villumaward" /> He was elected to the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences in 2003 and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2008.<ref name="napbio" />
== Selected works == * ''Topology Optimization: Theory, Methods, and Applications'' (with Martin P. Bendsøe, 2003)<ref name="topoptbook" /> * "Giga-voxel computational morphogenesis for structural design" (with Niels Aage, Erik Andreassen, and Boyan S. Lazarov, 2017)<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature23911|title=Giga-voxel computational morphogenesis for structural design|first1=Niels|last1=Aage|first2=Erik|last2=Andreassen|first3=Boyan S.|last3=Lazarov|first4=Ole|last4=Sigmund|date=2017-10-13|journal=Nature|volume=550|issue=7674|pages=84–86|doi=10.1038/nature23911|pmid=28980645|bibcode=2017Natur.550...84A|s2cid=205260273}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigmund, Ole}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Academic staff of the Technical University of Denmark Category:Technical University of Denmark alumni