Structural Engineering - A Challenge

Leslie E. Robertson, P.E., C.E., S.E., D.Sc., D.Eng., NAE, F.ASCE, AIJ, JSCA, AGIR, Chartered Structural Engineer
Leslie E. Robertson Associates, R.L.L.P.

Monday, April 11, 2005
7:00 P.M. - Lawrence J. Plym Auditorium
Temple Hoyne Buell Hall

Michael J. Theiss Memorial Lecture

About the Lecturer

Mr. Robertson is responsible for the structural design of hundreds of buildings and structures about the world, including the World Trade Center (New York), the United States Steel Headquarters (Pittsburgh), the Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong), Puerta de Europa (Madrid), and the Continental Arena (Meadowlands), as well as exceptional museums in Berlin and Portland (Maine) and the Miho Museum and Bridge (Japan). He received the Gengo Matsui Prize as the outstanding Structural Engineer in the world, the AIA Institute Honor and honorary membership with the AIA, New York; and was recognized as ENR's Construction 'Man of the Year'. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is licensed as a Chartered Structural Engineer (United Kingdom) and a First Class Architect (Japan). Mr. Robertson is one of twenty structural engineers (seven of whom are living) who made Engineering News Record's "125 Top People of the Past 125 Years."

Mr. Robertson is currently working with I.M. Pei and the Pei Partnership on the Museum for Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, the Suzhou Museum in Suzhou, China, and the Macao Science Center in Macao, China. He is also working with Kohn Pedersen Fox on the Shanghai World Financial Center, which will extend to a height of 492 meters (1614 feet).

Professional Achievements

While the firm was established in 1923, Mr. Robertson began his engineering career in 1952, leading to the eventual name change for the firm to Leslie E. Robertson Associates, R.L.L.P., with the guiding principle of providing an imaginative and responsible approach to engineering problems. Mr. Robertson's groundbreaking structural designs that have influenced the design and construction of tall buildings include:

The first high-rise building to use a composite megastructure space frame to resist all loads imposed by typhoon winds and the weight of the building (The Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong, 1989),
The creation of mechanical damping units to reduce wind-induced swaying (World Trade Center, New York, circa 1968),
The first use of prefabricated multiple-column and spandrel-wall panels to resist the lateral force from hurricane winds and to allow column-free interior space (World Trade Center, New York, circa 1972),
The first use of a space-frame megastructure and outrigger or hat system for a high-rise building (the World Trade Center and the United States Steel Headquarters, Pittsburgh, Pa. - now USX, 1963/1965), and
The creation of the shaftwall system now almost universally used for fire-resistive walls in high-rise buildings.

Mr. Robertson has earned numerous awards and honors as well as serving on the board of several cultural and professional organizations including New York City's Skyscraper Museum, the Architectural League of New York and the MacDowell Colony. The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana; Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Rensselaer, NewYork, have awarded him honorary doctorate degrees in engineering, and the University of Western Ontario in Canada presented him with an honorary doctorate in science.

With his innovations in structural engineering, Mr. Robertson has set new standards in the design and construction of tall buildings. A pioneer in the application of computers to design, he has advanced the art and the science of structural engineering theory. Mr. Robertson's work on skyscrapers, domes, bridges and long-span roofs has transformed engineering theory into practical technological breakthroughs that free architects to build the stuff of dreams.

Responsible for the structural design and construction of three of the world's eight tallest buildings, Mr. Robertson received the 1993 Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology for his structural design of the World Trade Center that withstood the 1993 terrorist bombing. As well, he was awarded the World Trade Center Individual Exceptional Service Medal for his work in the re-construction of the twin towers.

Mr. Robertson is a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), having been selected as the IStructE's 2004 recipient of the Institution of Structural Engineers Gold Medal. In 2004 he was presented with the first Fazlur Rahman Khan Medal for his leadership in the structural design of tall buildings. He is a 2003 recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) award for lifetime contributions in design. He was awarded the first Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology in 2002. The prize was established by the National Building Museum and by Turner Construction Company for notable advances and high achievement in the process of construction. The award recognized Mr. Robertson's 50-year career as a structural designer, which has significantly advanced the engineering and construction of tall buildings around the world.