Engineering History, Travel and You

By Richard G. Weingardt, P.E., Eng-i
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Leading structural engineers, more often than not, travel the world, both for work and pleasure. They’re also avid students of engineering history – and knowledgeable about pioneering engineers who made the profession what it is. Both activities increase one’s ability to see the “big picture” – and understand how engineering fits into the world.
The legendary Bill Moore (co-founder of Dames and Moore, former president of Structural Engineers Association of California, and first American to be elected president of FIDIC – International Federation of Consulting Engineers) had long been an activist in getting younger engineers educated in the history of the profession. Said Bill, “Sadly, many don’t seem to care about and aren’t interested in understanding what went before them. They’d be better engineers – and a lot prouder of the profession and themselves for being in it – if they had more knowledge of what was accomplished by previous generations.”

According to Henry Petroski (Duke University engineering professor and America’s “poet laureate of technology”), “What makes history interesting and relevant is it not only teaches us about the way things used to be done; it also gives us perspective on how things are done today – and how they most likely will be done in the future.”

Consider that the historic “Seven Wonders of the World” – from ancient times through middle ages to modern days, from the pyramids to Sears Tower – are all structural engineering marvels. Without the expertise of structural engineers, the performance of these facilities would never have reached their maximum potential.

How many of them have you studied – or visited? If your answer is none or few, have you asked yourself why not? And do you plan to do so in the future?

Walking along the Great Wall of China, looking out from the top of the Eiffel Tower or marveling at the Coliseum in Rome can be enlightening. You can’t help but be introspective in the moment, wanting to understand the why and how. Did the people of the time have any clue how much these monuments would influence progress in future civilizations? Which makes you wonder how future generations will view this generation’s accomplishments!
On the significance of travel, the remarkable Bucky Fuller (geodesic dome inventor and one of the most colorful personalities of the 20th century) circled the globe more than 50 times during his illustrious career. He claimed, “Only by travel can people experience and bring together man’s complex ideas … and propel civilization forward in quantum leaps.” Travel gives you a chance to experience other parts of the world. Seeing them might even change how you think about life.

Matching major structural advancements with what transpired in history highlights the fact that civilization and engineering, indeed, go hand in glove. The history of one reflects the history of the other.
Examples of history-changing structural feats that altered people’s daily routines, improved standards of living, and advanced the architecture of our built environment fill our history books. Without his structural engineering teams (who erected “impossible” structures over, around and through major obstacles), Alexander the Great could never have conquered the known world as quickly as he did. Similarly, in ancient Rome, the mastery by Roman structural engineers of the arch and metal reinforced-masonry/concrete construction influenced the building of bridges, aqueducts and building structures for ages.

The daring of Gustav Eiffel in designing a massive cast-iron framework (to form Paris’s most recognized landmark in 1889), and of William Jenney in first using structural-steel members in multi-story frames (to create the world’s first “skyscraper” in 1885, the Home Insurance Company in Chicago) heralded in the future. Their creations forever changed the planning, construction, and economics of multi-story structures.

In 1954, Bucky Fuller introduced the first commercial geodesic, enclosing the courtyard of the Ford Motor Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. With it came his building philosophy, “less in more.” Thereafter, he (and others) would determine a building’s weight when analyzing its efficiency and worthiness.

Of the engineering icons from academia who hastened progress radically, none stands out more than Hardy Cross. He inspired countless students to push the envelope and come up with industry advances that improved society immensely.

Most significant of Professor Cross’s revolutionary methods of structural analysis was fixed-end moment distribution, which used converging approximations to analyze continuous frames. Introduced in 1930, the Moment-Distribution (or Hardy Cross) Method short-circuited the monumental task of solving innumerable, simultaneous mathematical equations required in analyzing – and designing – complex indeterminate structures.

In Cross’s day, no modern computers existed. Without his methods for quickly (and relatively accurately) determining the stresses in complex structures, many building projects of the mid-20th century would have remained dreams-of-their-day. They certainly would never have been constructed the way they were.

How industry operated was permanently changed by these engineering giants and structural innovations. With countless other examples, they give just cause for the structural engineering community to puff up its chest with pride – and anticipate a bright future because of the geniuses in our ranks today.

What great events, prominent figures, innovations, and structures and/or systems that bettered the world have affected you most? Which ones motivated you to reach for greatness even more? Send me your list.