Ing. Emilio Rosenblueth, global figure of Earthquake Engineering
by Central News Journal Jewish - October 15, 2013
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Jewish Journal Mexico
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Emilio Rosenblueth Deutsch was born on April 8, 1926, in the Colonia Condesa in Mexico City. He was the only child of the marriage of Charlotte Deutsch Kleinman and Emilio Rosenblueth Stearns.
His father was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, in 1896, moved to the city of Monterrey after completing his studies in 1918, where he worked for two years in the clothing store owned by his father and in the brewing industry until the end of his days in 1945.
His mother - Charlotte Deutsch - born in Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary on August 15, 1899 and emigrated with his parents and his sister Gabriella to America in 1902, where were born his other two brothers, Maria (Presidio, Texas) and Julius ( Saltillo, Coahuila). Charlotte died in Mexico City at the age of 77 years.
Childhood and Studies
Emilio Rosenblueth Deutsch was very close to his parents childhood and his father 's family. He riding with them and, like his father, he studied piano since childhood. He came to play very well, especially works of Chopin, Ravel and Debussy. He had a great influence of his uncle Arthur who, not having own children, practically adopted her father's death, when Emilio was 18. He attended middle and high school in the French School Morelos and entered the National School of Engineers where he studied civil engineering.
While studying, he played numerous works as a surveyor, estructurista, laboratory assistant supervisor soil mechanics and works for several private companies.
In 1949, with the help of two scholarships, one of Manuel Suarez and one of his uncles Karoli and Maruca, he entered the graduate of the University of Illinois, one of the most prestigious universities in civil engineering. He finished his doctorate in three years , the second awarded to a Mexican from the University of Illinois - and was one of the brightest students who have had the university. In his doctoral thesis he made a global contribution to probability theory applied to earthquake engineering.He published years later a classic book, Fundamentals of Earthquake Engineering, with his thesis advisor, the prominent professor Nathan M. Newmark, who had contributed to the design of the Torre Latinoamericana.
He returned to Mexico
Despite tempting offers to work in the United States, he returned to Mexico in 1951. He began a courtship that lasted two years Laguette Alicia Gonzalez, sister of one of his schoolmates French Morelos. They married in 1954 and had four children: David (1955), Javier and Pablo (1956) and Monica (1957).
Alicia had the degree of Master of Literature and taught for several years kinds of universal and Latin American literature.
The library of the house was growing thanks to Alice who, with his talks, contagious everyone a taste for reading, in addition to delicious meals. Emilio and Alicia shared, among other tastes, the music. At home he often listened to Stravinsky, Schubert, Beethoven, Shostakovich and Messiaen, among others.The children grew up in a deliberately austere environment, studied piano, played chess regularly and devoted to science.
Shortly before marrying, Emilio established a structural engineering firm, Rational Design (DIRAC), which grew rapidly, and of which he was president and partner for over thirty years. There he participated in the design of numerous works, many with advanced solutions, such as works for the Olympics of 1968, the Palacio de los Deportes, working with Felix Candela, A. and E. Castañeda Peyri Tamborell and the Olympic Pool.
Professional life.
In 1958, at the request of the director of the Faculty of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Javier Barros Sierra , then he founded the Institute of Engineering with eminent engineers Fernando Hiriart, Raúl Marsal and Jose Luis Sanchez Bribiesca. In 1959 he was appointed director of the institute, since he played with imagination and vision until 1966, when he was appointed Coordinator of Sciences of the National University during the rectory of Javier Barros Sierra.
In 1977 he held the position of Assistant Secretary for Educational Planning in the Ministry of Education (during the administration of Fernando Solana), since he held until late 1982. That passing was remarkable. It contributed to the creation of educational institutions and improvement of many others. Played an important role in establishing, among other projects, the National Council of Professional Technical Education (CONALEP) and the National Institute for Adult Education (INEA).
But all the time was, above all, a researcher in the deepest sense of the term. It produced about 280 scientific papers on topics of probabilities, earthquake engineering, ethics and decision theory.
Many of his contributions and notable speeches always had a humanistic content, written in an austere and vigorous Spanish. He was always concerned about the development of the country.
It was a great trainer of people who carefully guided, courtesy, wisdom and sense of humor. He left his stamp on dozens of people, who led thesis students, colleagues and public officials. All he received from small little notes, or longer texts, reviewing and editing, which were written with a very small but perfectly legible.
He knew, as few, encourage their disciples with new challenges and innovative ideas, let them work and make them know and use all its resources and skills. Who worked with him not forget the challenges that raised or if any advantage over it. Nor forget your complete vision of the problems and their ability to simplify -conservando as well as concern essentially forever to achieve as much as possible with the resources available.
In his academic career, besides being professor of the Faculty of Engineering of the National University and the Division of Graduate Studies of this power, gave lectures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California and Milan, and the universities of Washington, Stanford, California, Waterloo (Canada) and National Engineering (Peru). He also gave numerous conferences in the country and abroad -work taking very seriously the public always aware that they are headed.
It would be laborious list of national and international committees in which it participated, the positions he held in scientific and professional organizations in Mexico and the world, as well as all kinds of awards received inside and outside the country.
Just mention who was president of the Academy of Scientific Research (1963-1965), member of the Board of Governors of the National University (1972- 1981), president of the Javier Barros Sierra (1975-1977) Foundation and honorary member organizations such as the American Concrete Institute (since 1976) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (since 1981). He was elected by member unanimously of the National College (1972) and received the degree of doctor honoris causa of the University of Waterloo (1983) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (1985) and Carnegie Mellon University (1989). Among the awards that were granted will include the Luis Elizondo (1973), National Science (1974), Prince of Asturias (1985), National University in the area of ??Research in Sciences (1986), Newmark Award from the American Society of Civil (1987) and Bernardo A. Houssay (1988) engineers.
Worth quoting some of the words spoken at the end of 1992, receiving the National Engineering Award:
I want to think, Mr. President, that your participation today means the message dese you transmit neither scientific research or technology or technological development, and it takes the use of the brain to carry out a good planning and design as innovative as sensible, are luxuries that can give us when we are rich. They are today needs urgently fill so that the distance between our country and the more prosperous is not enlarged, so that our countrymen can improve the quality of their life, researchers and civil engineers fulfill the mission
entrusted to us, with the mission excited assign ourselves: to meaningfully and effectively serve the country we love.
Emilio Rosenblueth Deutsch died on January 11, 1994, at 67 years old, victim of an abdominal aneurysm. |
