Leslie E. Robertson
Leslie E. Robertson | |
---|---|
Born | Leslie Earl Robertson February 12, 1928 |
Died | February 11, 2021 | (aged 92)
Nationality | American |
Education | University of California, Berkeley (BS) |
Occupation | Engineer |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Zublin (divorced) Sharon Hibino (divorced) SawTeen See (m. 1982) |
Engineering career | |
Discipline | IStructE Gold Medal |
Leslie Earl Robertson (February 12, 1928 – February 11, 2021) was an American engineer. He was the lead
Early life and education
Robertson was born on February 12, 1928, in Manhattan Beach, California to Tinabel (née Grantham) and Garnet Robertson.[2] His mother was a homemaker, while his father worked assorted jobs.[2] His parents divorced when he was a child and he was brought up by his father's second wife, Zelda (née Ziegel).[2] He was briefly enlisted in the navy in 1945, at the age of 17. However, he did not enter active duty.[2]
He studied civil engineering at University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952.[2]
Career
Robertson's engineering career began in 1952, when he joined Kaiser Engineering. He worked as a mathematician, structural engineer, and electrical engineer during this time. He was also part of the investigation team studying the collapse of an offshore drilling platform.[2] He later went on a road trip and ran out of funds in Seattle, where he then joined the Seattle-based structural and civil engineering firm Worthington and Skilling in 1958.[2]
When Seattle-born American architect
In 1967 Robertson was made a partner in WSHJ, which was renamed Skilling, Helle, Christiansen, Robertson. The firm split its operations in 1982, with Robertson renaming the east coast operations Leslie E. Robertson Associates RLLP.[4] Robertson would retire from the partnership in 1994, but would continue to work for the firm on projects until 2012.[2]
In addition to the World Trade Center, he was involved in structural engineering and design for other skyscrapers, including the
Since the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001, debates about the safety of rent-space-maximized designs have engaged the building professions, but the consensus among architects and engineers is that the World Trade Center actually withstood the impact of the plane with enough time to allow many thousands of occupants to evacuate safely.[2][7] Robertson's firm later participated in the development of a database of basic structural information for the towers of the World Trade Center (WTC1 and 2) for NIST and FEMA,[8] and to record the undocumented structural changes that had been made to the buildings after construction began. His firm also stayed for the structural engineering of the 4 World Trade Center building which came up at the same complex.[2]
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World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City
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Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai
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Puerta de Europa, Madrid
Personal life
Robertson was married to Elizabeth Zublin and later to Sharon Hibino, with both marriages ending in divorce.[2] In 1982 he married SawTeen See, a structural engineer who also has served as managing partner of their architectural engineering practice, Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA), now called See Robertson Structural Engineers, LLC.[9]
Robertson died from multiple myeloma at his home in San Mateo, California, on February 11, 2021, the day before his 93rd birthday.[2]
Books
- Robertson, Leslie Earl (2017). The structure of design: an engineer's extraordinary life in architecture. OCLC 992528782.
Awards
- 1975 Member of the National Academy of Engineering for "contributions in the design of tall buildings and development and application of wind-engineering principles to tall-building design for assurance of safety and comfort of the occupants"[10]
- 1986 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[5]
- 1989 Honorary degree, Doctor of Science, University of Western Ontario[5]
- 1989 Construction's Man of the Year (now known as the Award of Excellence) by the Engineering News-Record for his work developing efficient structural systems and championing wind engineering research[11]
- 1991 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, Lehigh University
- 1993 Mayors Award for Excellence in Science and Technology for contributions to the design of the World Trade Center. World Trade Center Individual Service Medal for contributions to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center following the 1993 bombing.[5]
- 1993 Gengo Matsui Prize of Japan[12]
- 2002 Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology from the National Building Museum[13]
- 2003 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, University of Notre Dame[14]
- 2003 ASCE OPAL Award for lifetime contributions to design[15]
- 2004 IStructE Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers[16]
- 2004 The Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for leadership in Structural Design[17]
- 2006 Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers[18]
- 2008 Elevated to National Honor Member of Chi Epsilon national civil engineering honor society[19]
- 2011 International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering[20]
- 2012 John Fritz Medal from the American Association of Engineering Societies[21]
- 2015 International Civil Engineering Award from the José Entrecanales Ibarra Foundation[22]
See also
References
- ^ Star-Ledger, For The (September 10, 2011). "The World Trade Center: Work of genius, undone by the unthinkable". nj. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Bernstein, Fred A. (February 11, 2021). "Leslie Robertson, Who Engineered the World Trade Center, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ISBN 1-4000-4601-7.
- ^ Leadership and Management in Engineering magazine. Volume 9, Issue 1, Engineering Legends pp. 46–50 (January 2009)
- ^ a b c d e "Leslie Robertson". www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ Morgenstern, Joseph (May 25, 1995). "The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis". The New Yorker. pp. 48–49.
- ^ "Executive summary" (PDF). Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "Leslie E. Robertson Associates support to NIST/FEMA". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "The Edward and Mary Allen Lecture in Structural Design". architecture.mit.edu. MIT Architecture Department. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "NAE Members – Mr. Leslie E. Robertson". NAE.edu. National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
- ISSN 0891-9526
- ^ "松井源吾賞について" [About the Matsui Gengo Award]. Japan Structural Designers Club (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "Awards for exemplary achievements in the built environment". National Building Museum. December 16, 2016. Henry C. Turner Prize For Innovation In Construction. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Winger, Meghan (September 18, 2005). "World Trade Center lead engineer to speak Wednesday. Notre Dame News". University of Notre Dame. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "Outstanding Projects And Leaders (OPAL) Leadership Awards Past Award Winners". ASCE.org. American Society of Civil Engineers. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
- ^ "IStructE Gold - List of Awardees" (PDF). July 16, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "2004 Fazlur Khan Medal Winner". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- ^ "Historical List of Distinguished and Honorary Members" (PDF). ASCE.org. American Society of Civil Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
- ^ "National Honor Member Bio Page. Leslie E. Robertson". Chi Epsilon. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering". IABSE. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
- ^ "Award Guide and Past Recipients". American Association of Engineering Societies. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
- ^ "La Fundación José Entrecanales Ibarra premia al ingeniero estadounidense Leslie E. Robertson". Acciona. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
External links
- Leslie Earl Robertson, 1928–2021 on the website of Leslie E. Robertson Associates
- "The Tower Builder", The New Yorker, November 19, 2001