STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Kavanagh Lecture - Biographical Sketch
The Twentieth Thomas C. Kavanagh Memorial Structural Engineering Lecture
April 4, 2013
7:30 pm
108 Forum Building
The Ups and Downs of Suspension Bridges
and the Highs and Lows of Their Builders
by
Harry H. West
Professor Emeritus
The Pennsylvania State University
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Dr. West, a well known Penn State structures faculty member who taught and conducted research here for 35 years, will present The Ups and Downs of Suspension Bridges: and the Highs and Lows of Their Builders as the twentieth anniversary Kavanagh Memorial Structural Engineering Lecture of 2013. During his research career, Dr. West studied static and dynamic analysis of cable-supported bridge and roof structures, researched overload and failure analysis of prestressed concrete box girders and investigated cost-effective bridge strategies including the estimation of bridge life, consequences of overloads, and design optimization methods. Dr. West’s suspension bridge research earned him the prestigious Moissieff Award in 1970 from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Dr. West is also a fondly remembered, respected, and admired educator. He was honored on five separate occasions for excellence in teaching: 1975 Excellent Teaching Award of the Penn State Engineering Society, 1977 Western Electric Fund Award of the American Society for Engineering Education, 1986 Premier Teaching Award of the Penn State Engineering Society, 1990 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award of The Pennsylvania State University for distinguished undergraduate teaching, and 1996 Alumni Teaching Fellow Award of the Penn State Alumni Association.
