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George W. Housner

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George W. Housner (December 9, 1910 in Saginaw, Michigan – November 10, 2008 in Pasadena, California) was a professor of earthquake engineering at the California Institute of Technology and National Medal of Science laureate.

George W. Housner
Born(1910-12-09)December 9, 1910
Saginaw, Michigan[1]
DiedNovember 10, 2008(2008-11-10) (aged 97)
Pasadena, California
Alma materUniversity of Michigan BSc 1933[2]
Caltech MSc 1934
Caltech PhD 1941
Known forSeismological Society of America president (1977)[3]
Scientific career
FieldsCivil engineering
InstitutionsCalifornia Institute of Technology

Biography

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Housner received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan where he was influenced by Stephen Timoshenko.[2] He earned his masters' (1934) and doctoral (1941) degrees from the California Institute of Technology where he had been a professor of earthquake engineering from 1945 to 1981, and professor emeritus thereafter. In 2000, he received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Southern California.[4]

Annually, in recognition of those who made extraordinary contributions to the earthquake safety research, practices and policies, EERI awards The George W. Housner Medal of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.[5] On his death, Housner left a substantial gift to EERI "to advance the objectives of EERI". This gift has been used to train future earthquake engineering policy advocates and thought leaders through the EERI Housner Fellows Program, which has been active since 2011.[6]

Housner died of natural causes November 10, 2008 in Pasadena, California at the age of 97.[7]

Partial list of achievements

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  • Chairman of the earthquake engineering research committee of the National Academy of Sciences[8]
  • Founding Member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute[9][10]
  • UNESCO representative to International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering in Tokyo[11]
  • AEC advisory panel on safety against ground shock[12]
  • AID consultant at University of Roorkee, India[12]
  • Chairman of Geologic Hazards Advisory Committee for Organization for the California State Resources Agency[13][14]
  • Chairman of Panel on Aseismic Design and Testing of Nuclear Facilities for International Atomic Energy Agency[15]
  • Member of Los Angeles County Earthquake Commission[16]
  • Member of Earthquake Engineering and Hazards Reduction Delegation to People's Republic of China[17]
  • Consultant to Japanese Atomic Energy Commission and Italian Nuclear Energy Commission and numerous nuclear energy projects in the U.S.[18]
  • International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE) President (1969–1973)[19]
  • Elected to National Academy of Sciences 1972[20]
  • Named Braun Professor of Engineering at Caltech 1974[21][22]
  • Chairman of Earthquake Earthquake Engineering Committee and the Committee on Dam Safety of the National Research Council (NRC)[22]
  • Delivered second Mallet-Milne memorial lecture for Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics in London, 1989[23]

References

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  1. ^ Housner, George W. (1997). "George W. Housner" (PDF) (Interview). Connections: The EERI Oal History Series. Interviewed by Stanley Scott. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b Housner 1997, p. 4
  3. ^ B. F. Howell; "History of the Seismological Society of America". Seismological Research Letters ; 73 (1): 70–83. doi:10.1785/gssrl.73.1.70
  4. ^ "Past Recipients – Honorary Degrees". honorarydegrees.usc.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  5. ^ "Honors and Awards: The George W. Housner Medal". 21 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Housner Fellows Program". Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  7. ^ Johnson Jr., John (15 November 2008). "George W. Housner dies at 97; Caltech professor emeritus was called the father of earthquake engineering". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) (1965). Annual Report – National Academy of Sciences. National Academies. p. 61.
  9. ^ Tubbesing, Susan & Anagnos, Thalia. (2008).The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, a Short History of the U.S. National Earthquake Engineering Society.
  10. ^ George W. Housner, Connections: The EERI Oral History Series. Oakland, CA: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. 1997. pp. 131–143. ISBN 0-943198-58-5. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  11. ^ Housner, George W. Interview by Rachel Prud’homme. Pasadena, California: Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. 1984. p. 28. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b Housner, George W. Interview by Rachel Prud’homme. Pasadena, California: Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. 1984. p. 36.
  13. ^ Housner, George W. Interview by Rachel Prud’homme. Pasadena, California: Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. 1984. p. 37.
  14. ^ The Geologic Hazards Advisory Committees for Program and Organization (1967). Earthquake and Geologic Hazards in California. Resources Agency of the State of California.
  15. ^ International Atomic Energy Agency, Aseismic Design and Testing of Nuclear Facilities, Technical Reports Series No. 88, IAEA, Vienna. p. 46
  16. ^ Los Angeles County Earthquake Commission (1971). Report of the Los Angeles County Earthquake Commission : San Fernando earthquake, February 9, 1971. Los Angeles: The Commission. pp. ii–iii. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  17. ^ George W. Housner, Connections: The EERI Oral History Series. Oakland, CA: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. 1997. pp. 204–205. ISBN 0-943198-58-5. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  18. ^ Housner, George W. Interview by Rachel Prud’homme. Pasadena, California: Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. 1984. p. 54. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  19. ^ "IAEE Past Presidents". International Association for Earthquake Engineering. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  20. ^ "George W. Housner". Member Directory. National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  21. ^ Weiner, Jon. "George W. Housner, 97". Caltech. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  22. ^ a b Housner, George W. Interview by Rachel Prud’homme. Pasadena, California: Oral History Project, California Institute of Technology Archives. 1984. p. 57.
  23. ^ Campbell, Andy (May 2016). "The fifteenth Mallet–Milne lecture". Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering. 14 (5): 1333–1336. doi:10.1007/s10518-016-9869-8.

Further reading

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