Dr. Lynn S. Beedle (December 7, 1917 – October 30, 2003) was an American

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...

, the founder and the director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, notable also for his design and building of skyscrapers. New York Times:Lynn S. Beedle, 85, Dies; An Expert on Tall Buildings;By DAVID TULLER; November 01, 2003
/ref>National Academy of Engineering:Memorial Tributes, Volume 11 (2007) LYNN S. BEEDLE;BY JOHN W. FISHER
/ref>Lehigh Heritage:Beedle, Lynn
/ref>Lehigh University;Distinguished Alumni;Lynn Beedle 52
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called him "an expert on tall buildings". Beedle is also credited with making Lehigh University a center of research for civil and structural engineering because of his "groundbreaking studies on the properties of steel structures". Beedle was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1972 “for contributions to steel structures research and design practice, especially plastic design and residual stress effects.” The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat honored Beedle with creation of the Lynn S. Beedle Achievement Award. Beedle was a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from 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 ...

. He also received Franklin Institute’s

Frank P. Brown Medal The Frank P. Brown Medal was formerly awarded by the Franklin Institute for excellence in science, engineering, and structures. It was established by the 1938 will of Franklin Pierce Brown, a member of the Master Plumbers Association. The designer ...

, as well as the

John Fritz Medal The John Fritz Medal has been awarded annually since 1902 by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) for "outstanding scientific or industrial achievements". The medal was created for the 80th birthday of John Fritz, who lived betw ...

, the Berkeley Engineering Alumni Society Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, and was named Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering by Lehigh University.

Life and career

Beedle was born in

Orland, California Orland is a city in Glenn County, California. The population was 7,291 at the 2010 census, up from 6,281 at the 2000 census, making Orland the most populous and fastest growing city in Glenn County. Orland is located north of Willows, at an ele ...

. He graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, with a B.S. degree, and joined the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

where he commanded underwater explosion research at the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

in Virginia and served as Deputy Officer in Charge of the Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll in 1946. In 1952 he received his doctorate from Lehigh University in structural engineering after 5 years of graduate studies and working there as an instructor.

References

External links

Lynn Beedle's tribute
to

Fazlur Rahman Khan Fazlur Rahman Khan ( bn, ফজলুর রহমান খান, ''Fozlur Rôhman Khan''; 3 April 1929 – 27 March 1982) was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect, who initiated important structural systems for skyscrape ...

on the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beedle, Lynn S. 1917 births 2003 deaths American structural engineers Engineers from California Lehigh University faculty Lehigh University alumni UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering People from Orland, California 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American inventors United States Navy personnel of World War II