Leslie Earl Robertson (February 12, 1928 – February 11, 2021) was an American engineer. He was the lead structural engineer of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in New York City, and served as structural engineer on numerous other projects, including the U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong.

Early life and education

Robertson was born on February 12, 1928, in Manhattan Beach, California to Tinabel (née Grantham) and Garnet Robertson. His interactions with Yamasaki led to the conceptualization of the tube design for the buildings with exterior columns that were two feet apart along the building's height, specifically designed to provide a sense of enclosure for people in the building. Robertson would retire from the partnership in 1994, but would continue to work for the firm on projects until 2012.

Since the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001, debates about the safety of rent-space-maximized designs have engaged the building professions, but the consensus among architects and engineers is that the World Trade Center actually withstood the impact of the plane with enough time to allow many thousands of occupants to evacuate safely. Robertson's firm later participated in the development of a database of basic structural information for the towers of the World Trade Center (WTC1 and 2) for NIST and FEMA, and to record the undocumented structural changes that had been made to the buildings after construction began. His firm also stayed for the structural engineering of the 4 World Trade Center building which came up at the same complex.

Robertson died from multiple myeloma at his home in San Mateo, California, on February 11, 2021, the day before his 93rd birthday.

Books

Awards

  • 1975 Member of the National Academy of Engineering for "contributions in the design of tall buildings and development and application of wind-engineering principles to tall-building design for assurance of safety and comfort of the occupants"
  • 1986 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • 1989 Honorary degree, Doctor of Science, University of Western Ontario
  • 1991 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, Lehigh University
  • 1993 Mayors Award for Excellence in Science and Technology for contributions to the design of the World Trade Center. World Trade Center Individual Service Medal for contributions to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center following the 1993 bombing.
  • 2002 Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology from the National Building Museum
  • 2003 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, University of Notre Dame
  • 2003 ASCE OPAL Award for lifetime contributions to design
  • 2004 IStructE Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers
  • 2004 The Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for leadership in Structural Design
  • 2006 Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • 2008 Elevated to National Honor Member of Chi Epsilon national civil engineering honor society
  • 2011 International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
  • 2012 John Fritz Medal from the American Association of Engineering Societies
  • 2015 International Civil Engineering Award from the José Entrecanales Ibarra Foundation

See also

  • Christopher O. Ward

References

  • Leslie Earl Robertson, 1928–2021 on the website of Leslie E. Robertson Associates
  • "The Tower Builder", <EM>The New Yorker</EM>, November 19, 2001