Long-time T.Y. Lin International bridge designer Dennis Jyh-Yeu Jang died unexpectedly of heart failure on June 13. in San Mateo, Calif., the design firm confirmed. He was 62.

Jang, also a corporate senior vice president, managed a number of notable bridge projects for the firm, including the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, S.C. and the Panama Canal Fourth Crossing.

With a career that spanned 35 years, Jang joined T.Y. Lin in 1987.  In 2006, he was named director for the firm’s San Francisco operations and in 2013, Jang became marketing and business development director for the firm's design of major bridges. In this role, he managed the pursuit and development of signature bridge projects in the U.S., Latin America, and the Pacific Rim.

Jang also was project manager for the ambitious high-speed rail program in his native Taiwan.

Alvaro J. Piedrahita, T.Y. Lin president and CEO, noted Jang's "significant contributions to the firm and his exemplary professional accomplishments. “He was supportive of every project he touched and a tireless champion for the firm. Dennis brought a great deal of passion and enthusiasm to his work and to the people he worked with.”

Jang earned an undergraduate civil engineering B.S. from National Taiwan University in 1978 and an M.S. in structural engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982.

“I was shocked to hear of Dennis’s passing,” says Michael D. Flowers, former president and CEO of contractor American Bridge, who noted their collaboration on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay suspension bridge. Flowers was project director then of the firm's joint venture with Fluor Corp. in building what he said was a  "one-of-a-kind self-anchored span."  

"I found Dennis to be a man of character, a fair man, and an easy-going professional," said Flowers. "I always remember him smiling, even though we were racing to beat the next major earthquake in the Bay Area.” 

Brian Maroney, toll bridge chief engineer for the California Dept. of Transportation, calls Jang "a true engineer.  He was smart, versatile and always kept his cool in tough situations."

"He was also just a really good person," adds Maroney. "The community of engineers here in the Bay Area and around the world that Dennis worked with are going to miss him."

A company spokeswoman says no successor has been named for Jang.