(Jack) Zunz Was Born in Germany on the 25Th of December 1923
Citation for the Degree of Doctor of Science in Engineering, honoris causa, Sir Gerhard Jacob Zunz Gerhard Jacob (Jack) Zunz was born in Germany on the 25th of December 1923. His family returned to South Africa while Jack was a young child and after matriculating at the end of 1941, he attended the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits). Jack volunteered for military service in World War II, and from 1943, he interrupted his studies at Wits to join a South African artillery regiment, serving in Egypt and Italy. Although he claims not to be a courageous man, he joined because “my conscious would not forgive me if I didn’t”. On demobilisation in 1946, Jack resumed his studies in the Department of Civil Engineering at Wits and completed his BSc in Engineering as one of the illustrious “class of ’48” (They were mostly ex-servicemen). The degree was formally conferred at a ceremony in March 1949. He commenced work in the steel design and fabrication industry, but soon moved to London where he joined Ove Arup and Partners in 1950. The company, now one of the largest multi- disciplinary engineering design firms in the world, was still in its infancy, but the founder, Ove Arup, recognized the potential of young Jack. In 1954, Jack returned to South Africa to start the South African branch of Ove Arup. The firm was awarded the design of the Sentech Tower, commonly known as the Brixton Tower. This iconic structure on the Johannesburg skyline, which required state-of-the-art engineering in its day, is 237 m high and can resist winds of 200 km/hr, deflecting as much as 2 m without damage.
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