Tomasetti lectures on then and now at Lehigh series

Real Estate Weekly, Feb 13, 2008

Richard Tomasetti, P.E., Hon. AIA, chairman of Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., the international engineering and design firm, will present "Engineering of Major Architecture, Then and Now," as part of the 2008 Khan Lecture Series at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., on Friday, February 15 at 4:10 p.m.

The nature and process of the contribution that structural engineering has made to architecture has changed over time. This is manifested by the evolution of the master builder into a collaborative team of specialists. This lecture will discuss some of the history of engineering including the integration of architecture, engineering design and materials technology. Comparisons will be made between the major structures of the past, such as domes and cathedrals, and our modern skyscrapers and long span structures. Examples will include some of the tallest buildings in the world, built and under design, as well as major sports facilities.

Tomasetti has extensive and varied experience in the structural design of numerous major commercial, industrial, residential and transportation projects and unique structural systems. His international firm is renowned for its work on some of the tallest buildings in the world, Cesar Pelli's Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), C.Y. Lee & Partners' Taipei 101 (Taipei, Taiwan) and Renzo Piano and FX Fowle's The New York Times Building. Thornton Tomasetti has also designed numerous long span sports facilities and is engineer of record for Santiago Calatrava's architectural and engineering designs for the 2,000 ft. high Chicago Spire project.

He has been Chairman of the American Society of Civil Engineers' committee on tall buildings and a member of New York City's Seismic Code Advisory Board. He and his firm were commissioned by New York City to lead the engineering efforts required for the search, rescue, and cleanup at the World Trade Center disaster site.

Tomasetti's numerous honors and awards include election to the National Academy of Engineering, an honorary doctorate from Manhattan College in 2001, the 2002 ACEC NY Engineer of the Year Award and the 2006 AIA NY Chapter Award.

He is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and NYU, an active author, lecturer and recognized investigator of structures in distress, and has co-authored the book Exposed Structures in Building Design.

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The Khan Lecture Series honors Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan and his legacy of excellence in structural engineering and architecture. It is organized by Dan M. Frangopol, the Fazlur Rahman Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture in the department of civil and environmental engineering and in the ATLSS (Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems) Center at Lehigh University.

The lecture is free and open to the public, and will take place at the Sinclair Lab Auditorium at Lehigh University, 7 Asa Drive in Bethlehem, Penn. For further information contact Leslie Ladick at 610-758-6123 or go to the website: http://www.lehigh.edu/frkseries.> Thornton Tomasetti, www.thorntontomasetti.com, provides building engineering services to clients worldwide on projects of all sizes and complexity. From the tallest towers and the longest spans, to innovative building systems and materials, the firm is committed to creating the best solutions through its technical ingenuity, pursuit of excellence, and responsiveness to client needs.

Founded in 1956 as Lev Zetlin & Associates, today Thornton Tomasetti is a 650-person organization of engineers and architects, collaborating from offices across the United States and in Hung Kong, London, Moscow, and Shanghai. Services cover structural design, building evaluation, and remediation to optimize building efficiency and performance.