The mathematical modeling of physical phenomena is the driving passion for the research of David Potyondy, who has expertise in Computational Structural Mechanics, with a focus on simulating damage processes. Dr. Potyondy obtained his Ph.D. in 1993 in Civil Engineering from Cornell University. He is a research scientist and software developer for Itasca Consulting Group (1994–2003 and 2005– ) and was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto during the 2004–2005 academic year. Dr. Potyondy has directed the development of, and has conducted 37 training courses for, the Particle Flow Codes (PFC2D and PFC3D). His research focuses on micromechanical modeling of geomaterials using discrete-element methods in which the material presented as a bonded collection of discrete bodies. Dr. Potyondy received the American Rock Mechanics Association 2005 Award for Research in Rock Mechanics for his contributions to the development of the bonded-particle modeling methodology.