Special Issue: Advances in Nonlinear Mechanics: Celebrating Richard James

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This special issue of the Journal of Applied Mechanics contains original research articles that have been collected with the purpose of honoring the scientific contributions of Richard D James.Richard (Dick) James is a world-leading expert in the mechanics of materials who has made outstanding contributions at the intersection of mechanics, material science, and applied mathematics.His work provides inspiration for the development of both rigorous theories and transformative applications.His contributions span a wide range of topics, including phase transformations in solid materials (martensitic and shape memory alloys, ferromagnetic/ferroelectric systems), variational methods to predict and design innovative materials, origami-inspired deployable structures, just to name a few.Several of these topics are represented in this issue, testifying Dick's long-lasting scientific impact.Dick has been not only a prolific author, recognized with several awards, but also a successful and beloved mentor.Several of his former students and postdoctoral collaborators are authors of the papers in this issue.