EERI Craig E. Taylor developed new natural hazard modeling and disaster risk assessment strategies. Related Links: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Tribute Second International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis and Management/Sixth Intl Symposium on Uncertainty Modeling and Analysis Website Craig E. Taylor, 68, an expert in multihazard risk management who shaped new directions in catastrophe modeling and risk simulation, particularly for earthquakes, died on May 31 in Torrance, Calif., after a brief undisclosed illness, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) confirms.A research professor at the University of Southern California and long-time consultant to insurers and federal agencies, Taylor was a

Related Links: Complacency is the Enemy: A Viewpoint by Jim LaMantia, PRIDE executive director (2009) PRIDE of St. Louis Inc. In 1972, union construction work in St. Louis was in turmoil, with the industry facing hundreds of restrictive labor work rules, frequent disputes among craft trades and disrupted projects.MantiaENR reported that "after just 12 days into construction of an Anheuser-Busch modernization project, a jurisdictional dispute erupted despite a nonstrike agreement among all unions. Work stalled for five months." Richard Mantia, then executive secretary-treasurer of the St. Louis Building Trades Council, and Alfred J. Fleischer, managing partner in a local contractor,

. Kenneth Liu helped lay the foundation for major seismic redesigns of hospitals throughout California. Related Links: LBL Architects Website American Institute of Architects May 12 Tribute to Kenneth Liu Kenneth Liu, 62, a California-based architect who helped revise seismic safety rules for the state’s hospitals after the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes in 1989 and 1994, respectively, died in Los Angeles on May 1. The cause of death was not given.Liu and colleagues Ken Lee and Erich Burkhart launched Lee Burkhart Liu Architects (LBL) Inc., Santa Monica in 1986, specializing in hospital design and planning in California. It also

Related Links: Online obituary of Charles G. Salmon and tributes Engineer cared about the regions past, future Online obituary of Louis L. Guy and tributes Charles G. "Chuck" Salmon, an emeritus civil-environmental engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he had taught for nearly 40 years, andnoted author of widely-used textbooks on concrete design, steel structures and structural analysis, was found dead on April 28 at his Las Vegas home. Details were not disclosed. Salmon was active in several industry groups, a past president of the civil engineering honor society Chi Epsilon, and recipient of numerous honors, including lifetime

Related Links: In Memoriam: Abe Gutman, Structural EngineerA Tribute by ENR Buildings Editor Nadine Post Abraham “Abe” Gutman, 73, an internationally recognized structural engineer and concrete foundations expert whose projects included New York City’s 6-million-sq-ft GutmanWorld Financial Center and foundations for the 3.3-million-sq-ft Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and who also was senior vice president and a 45-year veteran of design firm Thornton-Tomasetti, died suddenly on April 9 of an undisclosed cause.Gutman was one of the firm’s first principals and was named a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.He was actively involved in structural integrity inspections and

Related Links: Paul R. Munger Obituary-Missouri University of Science and Technology Paul R. Munger, 82, a Missouri civil engineer and longtime educator who probed the fatal 1981 Hyatt Regency skywalk collapse and chaired the board that revoked the licenses of its designers, died on April 19 in Rolla, Mo. The cause of death was not disclosed.MUNGERAs Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors chairman, Munger was among the experts who investigated the Hyatt incident. They found the collapse of two vertically contiguous atrium walkways was linked to design issues; 114 were killed and 216 were injured, making it

Related Links: Museum Plans Major Hans Hollein Retrospective in June Extended Architectural Record Obituary: Frederic Schwartz, 1951-2014 Hans Hollein, a maverick Austrian architect, teacher and designer, died April 24 following a long illness. He was 80.Hollein's irreverent, art-minded designs for schools, shops and museums earned him the 1985 Pritzker Architecture Prize, widely regarded as the profession’s Nobel. His work established a framework for post-modern architecture, focused on wit, eclecticism and irony with historical references.Hollein studied with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Richard Neutra, earning a master's degree in architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, in

Related Links: Opus Group Website: Gerald Rauenhorst obituary Saga of Opus East, a Failed Rockville-based Real Estate Titan, Continues in Court Gerald A. “Gerry” Rauenhorst, 86, a design-build pioneer and founder of The Opus Group, which became one of the largest U.S. builder-developers before being hit by financial troubles in the recession, died on April 24 in Edina, Minn., after a long illness.Rauenhorst, a civil engineer, launched an eponymous construction company in 1953 that later become The Opus Group, a Minneapolis-based commercial real estate developer that provides turnkey A/E/C services through three subsidiaries in nine U.S. offices.Opus has completed 2,300

AP Rep. James Oberstar, elected to 18 terms in Congress, chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Related Links: Au Revoir, Mr. Oberstar (ENR blog on his 2010 farewell press conference) 11/19/2010 ENR Q&A with Oberstar on the stimulus, one year after enactment (enr.com 2/12/2010) [subscription] Former House Transportation Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar, who built a record over more than 30 years as one of the staunchest congressional advocates of highways, transit and other public works, died on May 3 in Potomac, Md. He was 79.A statement from Oberstar's family said he died in his sleep but gave no

Related Links: Questions for Peter Hoffmann: A Hydrogen Advocate Whose Time May Have Come Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet A longtime chronicler of hydrogen energy and fuel cells, Peter Hoffmann died of a heart attack on April 18 at 78 years old. Hoffmann operated the longest-running news enterprise covering hydrogen energy, wrote books on the subject and was a long-time ENR and McGraw Hill contributor and overseas bureau chief.HOFFMANNEarly in his career, German-born Hoffmann worked in the Ford Motor Co.'s PR department, where he expanded his interests in automobiles, energy and photography, says