Dear colleagues,
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lothar Gaul passed away on December 18th, following complications from a car accident. Many of you know and have worked with him in the joints community over the last 20+ years, and are familiar with his contributions such as the Gaul resonator for experimental investigation of joint hysteresis, the use of zero thickness elements for modeling jointed interfaces, advancing experimental modal identification, and his review articles on friction models. Lothar had a larger than life presence, both literally as he usually was the tallest person in a room and figuratively with the wealth of knowledge that he brought to enrich any conversation.
As a tribute to his memory, a memory board has been setup here for you to post your recollections of Lothar.