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Tung-Yen "T.Y."
Lin was recognized as one of the greatest pioneering leaders in the
fields of long-span construction and prestressed concrete. In
1954, at the age of 42, he established a consulting firm in San
Francisco that still exists to this day. In 1994, the San
Francisco Chronicle reported, "Lin is perhaps the greatest structural
engineer in the world, and surely the most fearless."
In addition to his
pioneering designs, Lin published the first textbook on prestressed
concrete construction. And he organized the first World Conference
on Prestressed Concrete in 1957, which was attended by more than 1,200
engineers, architects and contractors from around the world.
Lin held numerous
positions at UC Berkley through the years, including chair of the
Division of Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics. He
retired from UC Berkley in 1976 to lead his consulting firm, T.Y.
International full time. He left the firm in 1992 and formed Lin
Tung-Yen China, Inc., which focused on engineering projects in China.
When Lin received
the National Medal of Science in 1986, he handed President Reagan a
16-page plan for a 50-mile bridge linking Alaska and Siberia.
While his bridge, named the Intercontinental Peace Bridge, has never
been built, the plan demonstrated the technical feasibility of this
difficult project. Lin described how to overcome the Arctic
elements by prefabricating sections of the bridge in port and floating
the sections into place.
In addition to the
National Medal of Science, Lin was a member of the National Academy of
Scientists and received the ACEC Medal of Honor, Freyssinet Medal, the
1994 UC Berkeley Alumnus of the Year, and the Albert Caquot of France
Award. He was the first recipient of the ASCE's Outstanding
Lifetime Achievement in Design Award. Lin contributed more than
100 technical and research papers and co-authored three textbooks in
structural engineering. Many of his works are considered "bibles
of the industry".
T.Y. Lin passed
away on November 15, 2003. He was survived by his wife of 62 years
and two children. Ben C. Gerwick, Jr., a UC Berkeley professor
emeritus of civil engineering said of Lin, "He was far ahead of his
time. He always wanted what he was doing in the technical and
structural field to carry over to society in a broader way. His
enthusiasm inspired creativity in engineers throughout the world."
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