Herbert Saffir
Herbert Saffir | |
---|---|
Georgia Institute of Technology | |
Known for | Saffir–Simpson scale |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Civil engineering |
Herbert Seymour Saffir (29 March 1917 – 21 November 2007) (
Education and early career
Originally from
Later career
In 1965 Saffir was working on a study of windstorm damage on low-cost housing commissioned by the United Nations (UN), Saffir developed a scale to categorize the intensity of hurricanes by their maximum wind speed. In 1969, his friend Bob Simpson, then-director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), added information on the potential storm surge and range of central pressures for each category, resulting in what later became known as the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.[5]
Saffir survived the burning of the cruise ship SS Morro Castle on 8 September 1934. The ship was en route from Havana to New York when it caught fire and burned, killing a total of 137 passengers and crew members.
On 21 November 2007 Herbert Saffir died of a heart attack at South Miami Hospital in Miami according to his son, Richard Saffir. He was 90 years old.[6]
See also
- Hurricane engineering
- Structural engineering
- Wind engineering
References
- ^ "Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale". American English Dictionary. Collins. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ Looking at the Damage – McGraw-Hill Construction | ENR
- ^ Google Scholar search for H Saffir
- ^ Engineering Hall of Fame
- ^ http://www.novalynx.com/saffir-interview.html Archived 2010-02-28 at the Wayback Machine Q&A with Herbert Saffir — June 2001 interview from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
- ^ Herbert Saffir, 90; Hurricane Scale Creator