Henry Ludwig Michel (1925-2001) was a civil engineer and chairman of Parsons Brinckerhoff. He was responsible for the planning and management of public infrastructure projects, having received international acclaim for his management of worldwide transportation projects. In 2000, Michel was honored with the Pupin Medal conferred by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in memory of

Michael Pupin Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin ( sr-Cyrl, Михајло Идворски Пупин, ; 4 October 1858Although Pupin's birth year is sometimes given as 1854 (and Serbia and Montenegro issued a postage stamp in 2004 to commemorate the 150th anniversary o ...

Early life and career

Henry Michel was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1925. In 1949, Michel earned a B.A. in civil engineering from

. After graduation, he participated in a project that sought to upgrade British fighter bomber bases in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era. Michel later left England, moving to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he started an engineering company that became a contractor at sites in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. He helped to develop the University of Baghdad, the Nigerian Parliament in Lagos,

Tunis University Tunis University ( ar, جامعة تونس, french: link=no, Université de Tunis) is a university in Tunis, Tunisia. It was founded in 1960 on the basis of earlier educational establishments. The University of Tunis is a member of the Mediterr ...

and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

headquarters in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Parsons Brinckerhoff

Michel, upon returning to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1965, joined the engineering planning and construction company Parsons Brinckerhoff. He became the company's partner in 1969 and in 1975 reorganized the traditional partnership into an employee-owned corporation. He became the first chief executive and chairman of the newly formed corporation in 1990. During his tenure, the engineering firm went international, setting up six offices overseas. Employment grew drastically from 500 to 4,000 employees. Under Michel's leadership, Parsons Brinckerhoff became one of the most reputed construction contractors in the United States. The company would later be contracted to manage

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's mega transportation project known as the Big Dig.

Later life

After stepping down as chairman in 1994, Michel continued to speak on the company's behalf. He then joined a new trouble-shooting venture, Global Construction Solutions, in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, while also becoming a co-owner of Pegasus Consulting. Mr. Michel was a founding member and former president of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation. In his mid and late career, Michel traveled extensively lecturing universities including MIT and Columbia. He is the recipient of many awards such as Columbia's Pupin and Egleston Medal. In 1995, Michel was elected into the prestigious National Academy of Engineering. The

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

named its Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research, presented at the annual CERF Global Innovation Awards Dinner, in honor of Henry Michel.

References

External links

American Society of Civil Engineers CERF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Henry Ludwig Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 2001 deaths 1925 births

Early life and career

Parsons Brinckerhoff

Later life

See also

References

External links