GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS notable structural engineers Nathan M. Newmark Structural Dynamics Innovator Extraordinaire ® By Richard G. Weingardt, P.E. Copyright Trans-Alaska Pipeline in the fall. Courtesy of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. As one of the most recognized and respected His cutting-edge methods continue to be pioneers in the field of structural dynamics applied to the analysis and design of a wide and seismic design for more than a half range of complex structures including high- of a century, Nathan “Nate” Mortimore rises, large dams, bridges and nuclear reactor Newmark elevated the stature of the facilities, both in the U.S. and abroad. Along U.S. civil engineering profession in those with his theories for such construction disciplines to the top tier internationally. are included the universal design criteria He developed countless innovative theories, he developed for U.S. military protective Nathan M. Newmark. Courtesy of Civil Engineering analysis procedures and design criteria for projects and nuclear reactor facilities. Department, University of Illinois. seismic soil-structure interaction for building Among his noted consulting projects were The importance and practicality of his work earthquake-resistive structures that remain in the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART) in structural dynamics and seismic analysis wide use today. and the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline. was showcased when one of his projects –the magazineAccording to William Hall, a longtime col- Latino Americana Tower, Mexico’s City’s league of Newmark at the University of Illinois tallest building at 600-plus feet, counting its S T R at Urbana-ChampaignU C (UIUC), “ProfessorT 138-footU television antennaR – withstood E two Newmark developed simple yet powerful and large earthquakes unscathed, one in 1957, the widely used methods for analyzing complex other in 1985. It proved to be a case study in structural components and assemblies under how properly designed high-rise buildings can a variety of conditions of loading, and for successfully survive major seismic activity. calculating the stresses and deformations in A year before the 1957 earthquake, Newmark soil beneath foundations. He contributed (along with Mexico City consulting engineer significantly to a better understanding of the Leonardo Zeevaert, one of his former behavior of structural materials under various students) had presented a seminal paper on environments including fatigue and brittle the innovative design of the Tower at the fracture. He added materially to knowledge World Conference on Earthquake Engineering of the behavior and design of highway bridge at the University of California. In their decks and floor slabs in buildings, and structures presentation, they delineated the crux of their subjected to impact, periodic excitation, wave design, emphasizing the project’s unusual action, wind, blast and earthquakes.” characteristics. They said, “The building is For Newmark’s “special contributions to the nearly twice as tall as any other building in advancement of engineering knowledge of the city, and because of poor foundation soils, structures subjected to earthquake or blast, a light but rigid structure was designed to and for inspiration to others in improving rest on a foundation comprised of a floating man’s environment,” Newmark was honored concrete box set upon piles.” with two prestigious national recognitions: So successful was Newmark’s seismic analysis first, the 1968 National Medal of Science for the structure that Engineering News- The Latino Americana Tower, Mexico City’s tallest high- presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson; Record (ENR), in reporting on the 1957 rise. It has withstood several large magnitude earthquakes then, the 1969 Washington Medal from the disaster, wrote, “The most encouraging news with little or no structural damage. Courtesy of Civil Western Society of Engineers and several from earthquake-struck Mexico City is that Engineering Department, University of Illinois. other major U.S. engineering societies. the city’s one true skyscraper, the 43-story STRUCTURE magazine 62 December 2007 Two years later, in 1934, Newmark received Computer Department – which spawned his PhD. He continued on at Illinois as a numerous spin-offs and expansion into research assistant – the first of several positions supercomputing nationwide. he would hold at UIUC. He was appointed His lifelong tenure at the institution resulted research professor of civil engineering in 1943 in many rewarding recognitions for himself and and became head of the Department of Civil his alma mater. Hall stated, “Newmark carried Engineering in 1956. his university [UIUC] with him wherever he From 1947 to 1957, he chaired the Digital went, even into professional practice. Engineers,® Computer Laboratory at the University young and old, who came into contact with this where he participated in developing one of man, sensed an intense intellectual and educa- the country’s first large-scale digital computers tional challenge. His penetrating insight, his (ILLIAC II). This triumph marked the keen engineering judgment, and his genuine beginning of applying computer science to interest in people have been a constant source engineering and establishing an entire new of inspiration to all who have had the privi- department at the University – its Digital lege of working with him.” continued on next page Copyright Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in the 1970s. Courtesy of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Latino-Americana Tower, rode the shock waves undamaged, even to its window glass and partitions.” Nate was born on September 22, 1910, in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Abraham S. and Mollie (Nathanson) Newmark. After receiving his early education in North Carolina and – For Advertiser ADVERTISEMENT Information, visit New Jersey, Newmark graduated from Rutgers University with high special honors in civil engineering in 1930. He immediatelymagazine enrolled in graduate school at UIUC. WhenS he arrived there,T its civil engineeringR U C T U R E department was blessed with a stellar staff that included three world-renowned icons in the structural engineering field – Wilbur Wilson, Harold Westergaard and Hardy Cross, In Newmark’s first encounter with Cross, www.STRUCTUREmag.org the engineer-philosopher asked where each student had studied. When Newmark answered Rutgers, Cross looked down his nose at him and commented, “You’ve got a lot of things to unlearn.” In time, the two developed a mutual admiration for each other – and a broad spectrum of interests. Their relationship was based on the interplay and exchange of ideas, not only in engineering but also in a wide range of subjects. They discussed politics, philosophy, art, and the classics with equal relish. Newmark once remarked that his part of the discussions “must have been audible for blocks because Cross was so deaf I had to yell just to be heard.” Newmark received his master’s degree in engineering from UIUC in 1932, the same year he married Anne May Cohen. Over the years, they raised one son and two daughters, Richard, Linda and Susan. STRUCTURE magazine 63 December 2007 Thank you for reviewing this ad proof for the upcoming issue of STRUCTURE® Magazine. To ensure that the proper advertisement for your company is run, please print out this document, fi ll out the information below and fax it to us at: 608-524-4432. Yes, the ad looks fi ne. No, we require the following changes: If we recieve no fax within 48 hours of this email, we will assume that there is no change necessary and will run the ad as presented here. Thank you for your assistance. Inside_Cover_Outside_Cover_Perfe1 1 8/30/2007 10:46:55 AM today carries a specific meaning in the field of seismic stability of dams. As I reflect on the conversation that evening in 1957, I realize I was present at its conception, the product of the interactions of two great minds, probing and reinforcing each other.” ® During World War II, Newmark served as a consultant to the National Defense Research Com- mittee and Office of Scientific Research and Development, spen- ding part of his service in the Pacific war zone. From the mid- 1950s onward, he was involved in developing key design criteria Copyright– including the hardness standards – for the Minuteman program and Newmark (right) with his protégé and frequent collaborator missile launch facilities. Cover of one of Newmark’s most popular books William Hall examining a reinforced concrete beam-column In 1964, Newmark became Fundamentals of Earthquake Engineering. specimen being tested for flexure and shear. Courtesy of Civil deeply engaged in seismic resistance Courtesy of Richard Weingardt Consultants, Inc. Engineering Department, University of Illinois. codes for nuclear power reactors a member of Newmark’s original team, still When geotechnical engineer Ralph Peck throughout the country. He and Hall published serves as a consultant for the project.) – Karl Terzaghi’s protégé – began teaching at U.S. Nuclear Regulation Committee Report A founding member of the Engineering Illinois in 1942, the 30-year-old struck up a NUREG/CR-0098 Development of Criteria for Mechanics Division of the American Society close relationship with Newmark. Both were Seismic Review of Selected Nuclear Power Plants, of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Newman received emerging pioneers in analyzing the effects of which is still in use today. many of the division’s awards for individual seismic forces and motions on soils – and on In 1969, the pair also published a paper achievements. His ASCE honors include the the structures bearing on the soils. Recalled – delivered at the Fourth World Earthquake James Croes Medal, Mosseiff Award, Norman Peck, “Since my wife and I were only slightly Engineering Conference in Santiago, Chile Medal, Ernest Howard Award, and Theodore younger than Nate and Ann Newmark, we – on a straightforward method for computing von Karman Medal. became included in their circle of friends, and and sketching seismic design spectra, now a In his later years, he received the John Fritz much of our social life was with them.” classic document.