This volume contains selected papers in three closely related areas: mathematical modeling in mechanics, numerical analysis, and optimization methods. The papers are based upon talks presented on the International Conference for Mathematical Modeling and Optimization in Mechanics, held in Jyväskylä, Finland, March 6-7, 2014 dedicated to Prof. N. Banichuk on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The articles are written by well-known scientists working in computational mechanics and in optimization of complicated technical models. Also, the volume contains papers discussing the historical development, the state of the art, new ideas, and open problems arising in modern continuum mechanics and applied optimization problems. Several papers are concerned with mathematical problems in numerical analysis, which are also closely related to important mechanical models. The main topics treated include:  * Computer simulation methods in mechanics, physics, and biology; * Variational problems and methods; minimization algorithms; * Optimal control problems with distributed and discrete control; * Shape optimization and shape design problems in science and engineering; * Sensitivity analysis and parameters optimization of complex systems.