greatest engineers ever?

[amor de cosmos]

I'll let someone else post stuff about Eiffel, Archimedes or Arup. I like Robert Maillart:

By the early twentieth century reinforced concrete became an acceptable substitute in construction for all previous structural materials, such as stone, wood, and steel. People like Joseph Monier, had developed useful methods for design and construction, but no one had invented new forms that showed the full aesthetic nature of reinforced concrete. Robert Maillart had an intuition and genius that could entirely exploit the aesthetic of concrete. He designed three-hinged arches in which the deck and the arch ribs were combined to produce closely integrated structures that evolved into stiffened arches of very thin reinforced concrete and concrete slabs. The Schwandbach Bridge (1933) and the Salginatobel Bridge (1930) are classic examples of Maillart’s deck stiffened arch bridges and three-hinged arch bridges. In 1991, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared the Salginatobel Bridge a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 2001, the British Trade Journal, “Bridge – Design and Engineering,” voted the Salginatobel Bridge the most beautiful bridge of the century.

These designs went beyond the common boundaries of concrete design in Maillart’s time. Both of the bridges mentioned above are great examples of Maillart’s ability to simplify design in order to allow for maximum use of materials and to incorporate the natural beauty of the structure’s environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maillart

Salginatobel Bridge (1930):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattschoenholz/173969167/

Schwandbach-Brucke Bridge (1933); the curve must have made it tricky:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10992194@N02/3020572536/

[Steely Dan]

i certainly couldn't tell you who was the greatest engineer ever, but i would like to put in good word for an engineer who worked for SOM in chicago named Fazlur Kahn. Kahn's engineering innovations made possible many of the most famous skyscraper icons of the latter 20th century. among his pioneering developments were the framed tube (dewitt-chesnut apartments), the braced tube (john hancock center) and the bundled tube (sears tower).

to learn more about the great fazlur kahn: http://www.fazlurrkhan.com/innovation.htm

[Kelvin]

Maillart and Khan are two excellent picks. I'll nominate another: Othmar Ammann who studied under the greats (Modjesk, Lindenthal, etc.) but surpassed them all in the end and always remained modest of his accomplishments. He engineered the GWB and Verrazanno Narrows (plus many other projects) and had influence on several other contemporary designs (Golden Gate, Tacoma, etc.).

[smurf]

Well being a mechanical engineer who works on power plants, I have to pick Sadi Carnot, the "father of modern thermodynamics". He created the Carnot cycle and the theoretical Carnot heat engine, which is still used today as a basis for the maximum efficiency a heat engine can have. In fact, the Carnot cycle is quite often the basis for rejecting a lot of patent claims for perpetual motion machines.

[nequidnimis]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i certainly couldn't tell you who was the greatest engineer ever, but i would like to put in good word for an engineer who worked for SOM in chicago named Fazlur Kahn. Kahn's engineering innovations made possible many of the most famous skyscraper icons of the latter 20th century. among his pioneering developments were the framed tube (dewitt-chesnut apartments), the braced tube (john hancock center) and the bundled tube (sears tower).

to learn more about the great fazlur kahn: http://www.fazlurrkhan.com/innovation.htm

I am not sure the concepts are Fazlur Khan's. I believe they were originally developed by another SOM partner, Myron Goldsmith in his 1953 Master Thesis: "The Tall Building: The Effects of Scale".

"Several new structural types were developed for tall buildings in both steel and concrete. One example worked out in detail was an office building with a concrete structure 80 stories high. Gravity loads were carried to the ground by a massive super-frame in which eight columns forming three 180x140 bays supported six horizontal platforms spaced fifteen stories apart. From each platform, seven floors were supported below and seven supported above, leaving the floor midfway between the platforms free of columns. (...) Three new possibilities for tall steel buildings, each 60 stories high, were also presented in the thesis. Their floors were clear spans with no interior columns. All loads were carried on the perimeter walls, which were stiffened against lateral movement by three different systems of diagonal bracing." Myron Goldsmith, Buildings and Concepts, edited by Werner Blaser. Unfortunately, while I have the book, I couldn't find any pictures online. Here is a picture of Goldsmith's unbuilt Ruck-a-Chucky bridge:


Picture courtesy of Mark Ketchum.

Goldsmith was both an architect and an engineer, but he was a visionary who preferred to leave the responsibilty of completing the actual calculations to others. If you have contacts at SOM, you might be able to get a copy of the book, or even his thesis.

However, personally I would nominate Isambard Kingdom Brunnel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel






With Robert Stephenson, a close second:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stephenson

Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

[Kelvin]

R.Stevenson is another good pick -- If you get the chance read Bella Bathurst's "The Lighthouse Stevensons" please do. It's a great history of the Scottish lights, their builders including several generations of Stevensons (including one Robert Lewis Stevenson who later found fame elsewhere), and great political and social history.

[Phil McAvity]

I always figgered Len Da Vinci had some mad skillz.

[Pandemonious]

Many greats already named. I will give Felix Candela a shout. A Spanish Arch/Engr who did amazing revolutionary concrete shell structures back in the 50's in Mexico, really pioneering the use of reinf concrete in engineering and architecture by showing what it was capable of. I have wondered if Bertrand Goldberg knew of and was inspired later by his works...

Google some of his projects.

[Amanita]

I'll second Othmar Ammann- he was a kickass amazing bridge engineer.
However I will add to the list Leon Moisseiff. He was a pioneer of Deflection Theory, which allowed suspension bridges to be made lighter, more graceful, and more flexible. He played an instrumental role in the Manhattan Bridge, the George Washington, Bronx-whitestone, Golden Gate, and many others. He has been called a man of many triumphs and one failure. That failure was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, aka Galloping Gertie. That one incident pretty much finished his career. It could be said that the man died of a broken heart. In 1943, three years after the loss of the Tacoma bridge, he died of heart failure.

[Nowhereman1280]

I'd add William LeBaron Jenney to the list for pushing new technologies that allowed the first skyscrapers to be constructed.

Also if you include mechanical and electrical engineering I would add Nikola Tesla, if only for being a complete badass wizard of electricity...

[nequidnimis]

Originally Posted by Amanita

I'll second Othmar Ammann- he was a kickass amazing bridge engineer.
However I will add to the list Leon Moisseiff. He was a pioneer of Deflection Theory, which allowed suspension bridges to be made lighter, more graceful, and more flexible. He played an instrumental role in the Manhattan Bridge, the George Washington, Bronx-whitestone, Golden Gate, and many others. He has been called a man of many triumphs and one failure. That failure was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, aka Galloping Gertie. That one incident pretty much finished his career. It could be said that the man died of a broken heart. In 1943, three years after the loss of the Tacoma bridge, he died of heart failure.

Not quite sure what was so innovative about building suspension bridges in the 1930's through 1960's. Here is a picture of the Menai Suspension Bridge. It was built from 1819 to 1826, and the main span is 577 ft. It is still in use.

Picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

[Kelvin]

The Menai is an example of a great achievement for its time - however, the suspension bridges of the late 19th and early part of the 20th century are also achievements in their own right not because they are longer, taller, or lighter (which they are) - but rather because of the new ideas employed in order to allow them in the first place. As Amanita pointed out, the use of deflection theory (and other concepts) had been advanced by these men which permitted lighter structures and longer spans. The calculations were all "hand" based (meaning that they performed the calculations by hand without need for sophisticated computational machines) and pushed the limits of the materials in ways that earlier engineers couldn't.

[jmecklenborg]

The Roebling Suspension Bridge in Cincinnati was the longest in the world until the Brooklyn Bridge. Construction began in the mid-1850's but completion was delayed until 1866 due to The Civil War. The original deck was replaced & a second set of main cables added in the 1890's to support streetcars. The bridge's weight limit was recently reduced and so city buses cannot run on it anymore, although it is still open to car traffic.



One of the cable saddles at the top of the south tower:




The bridge has been modified by an at-times sloppy ensemble of additional cables which stiffen the deck:

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

I'd add William LeBaron Jenney to the list for pushing new technologies that allowed the first skyscrapers to be constructed.

Also if you include mechanical and electrical engineering I would add Nikola Tesla, if only for being a complete badass wizard of electricity...

Shit i was going to say Tesla....I would also add Da Vinci.....and the female engineer from Egypt who I believe designed the pyramids

[Pandemonious]

I have always liked that Cincy bridge, too bad that cheesy Libeskind building is now at the terminus opposite the city..

[Anand Puranik]

I also like Robert Maillart.Hi is great.

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i certainly couldn't tell you who was the greatest engineer ever, but i would like to put in good word for an engineer who worked for SOM in chicago named Fazlur Kahn. Kahn's engineering innovations made possible many of the most famous skyscraper icons of the latter 20th century. among his pioneering developments were the framed tube (dewitt-chesnut apartments), the braced tube (john hancock center) and the bundled tube (sears tower).

to learn more about the great fazlur kahn: http://www.fazlurrkhan.com/innovation.htm

Steely stole my thunder! LOL!! I too was going to suggest Fazlur Kahn. The man was a pure genius in alot of ways! He was way ahead of his time and you still see many nods in architecture to him! He paved the way for Supertalls in a whole new and modern way.

[axiomata]

Originally Posted by Anand Puranik

I also like Robert Maillart.Hi is great.

I too like Robert Maillart.

But I hope liking him is not a ban-able offense for new posters.

[gore-lm]

Apollodorus of Damascus , a roman engineer .Aabout 2 000 years ago ( 103-105 ) he built a bridge ( Trajan's bridge ) over Danube river with a total length of 1135 meters. The river is about 800 meters wide in that area. For more than a thousand years had the record to be the longest bridge in the world.

[MIAMIpaintball]

Nikola Tesla


even though he wasn't a structure engineer, he still is one of the greatest.

also

Werner Von Braun

and a whole bunch of other German scientist, wanted to post this one who made a mini ufo and anti gravity device i think. cant remember his name, and 90% of the devices he made were destroyed sadly.