SPEECH
Protect the global projection of America’s might during the final phase of the Cold War. Protect the lifeblood of a community by safeguarding pipelines in seismically active zones. Protect the many commuters conveying along the Brooklyn Bridge against a failing infill grid deck. If it sounds like something out of a superhero’s resume, think again. It’s all in a life’s work for Jeremy Isenberg, Professional Engineer and Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, whose gallant career has taken him from defence applications to civilian ones and onward to excellence in management.
As the Principal‐in‐charge of Weidlinger Associates, based out of Los Altos, California, he led the field in developing and applying 3D nonlinear finite element technology to hardness assessment of protective structures for basing some of America’s Cold War ballistic missile arsenal. In fact, his contributions resulted in the design and testing of the most survivable missile silos ever designed, built, and tested.
While continuing his decades‐long relationship with Weidlinger, Dr. Isenberg’s design expertise turned to the performance of pipelines during earthquakes, which led to the method of discovering pipes vulnerable to failure. His commitment to this sphere of work led to being principal investigator for the joint NSF‐NCEER sponsored project to construct and maintain instrumented pipeline segments across the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California.
For Dr. Isenberg, a bigger picture was emerging through the course of these professional experiences. He realized that theory and computer simulation should advance in step with testing and field observations. He advocated for the conversion of computational methods from defence applications to civilian uses, which was followed by the development of a whole suite of software products by Weidlinger with a myriad of applications.
Dr. Isenberg’s thriving tenure at Weidlinger saw him appointed President and CEO in 1993, while the community at large was only too glad to recognize his contributions with the Dennis Tewksbury and Ernest E. Howard Awards as well as the C. Martin Duke Award for Lifeline Earthquake Engineering. It is in this spirit that the American Society of Civil Engineers presents Dr. Jeremy Isenberg with a lifetime achievement award in the field of design.