Tung yen lin biography of william

This article is about the Chinese American structural engineer. For the infrastructure firm he founded, see T. Y. Lin International.

Tung-Yen Lin (Chinese: 林同棪; pinyin: Lín Tóngyán; November 14, – November 15, ) was a structural engineer who was the pioneer of standardizing the use of prestressed concrete.

Biography

Born in Fuzhou, China as the fourth of eleven children, he was raised in Beijing where his father was a justice of the ROC's Supreme Court. He did not begin formal schooling until age 11, and only so because his parents forged his birth year to be so that he would qualify. At only 14, entered Jiaotong University's Tangshan Engineering College (now Southwest Jiaotong University), having earned the top score in math and the second best score overall in the college entrance exams for his entering class. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in and left for the United States, where he earned his master's degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in Lin's master's thesis was the first student thesis published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Lin returned to China after graduation to work with the Chinese Ministry of Railways. Before too long he earned the reputation of being a "good engineer". This positioned him to become the chief bridge engineer of the Yunnan-Chongqing Railway and oversaw the design and construction of more than 1, bridges. He returned to UC Berkeley to join its faculty in , and began to research and develop the practice of prestressed concrete. He did not invent prestressed concrete, but he did develop it for practical use. The inventor of prestressed concrete is Eugene Freyssinet of France. Lin retired in to work full-time at T.Y. Lin International, a firm he founded in After selling that firm, he left it to found Lin Tung-Yen China on June 1, , which oversees engineering projects in China.

When Lin receiv

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W I L L I A M S. L E E – Elected in “For leadership in the development of large multi–purpose electric power projects in an economical and environmentally compatible manner.” BY ROBERTA BOWMAN AND LYNNE HOLMES SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY A T THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA at Charlotte (UNCC), an original mural commemorates the man for whom the engineering school is named—William States Lee III. Because the artist found it impossible to capture his essence in a single image, she used more than a dozen likenesses to convey the spirit and energy of his character. Like the mural, Bill Lee’s life was a composite of many skills and interests—he was a consummate engineer, a visionary leader, and a generous giver. Before his untimely death in at the age of 67, he left indelible impressions on the people whose lives he touched, on the profession he embraced, on the industry he served, and on the world he lived in. The Engineer Bill was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in , and you could say engineering ran in his blood. His grandfather, William States Lee Sr., had helped found, and was chief engineer of Southern Power Company. The company, later called Duke Power and eventually Duke Energy, became one of the world’s largest and most respected energy companies. Lee III graduated from Princeton University with a degree in civil engineering, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, in He served in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corps during the Korean War and returned to Charlotte with his bride, Janet, in Final Tribute Vol indd 3/23/10 PM 

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The world-renowned structural engineer Tung-Yen Lin has died, aged He was the founder TY Lin International and of San Francisco-based Lin Tung-Yen China, and was a professor emeritus of civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His pioneering work in prestressed concrete had a profound influence on modern structural design.
 
He died at his home in California after a fall resulting from a mild heart attack. He had remained active throughout his life, having met with former students and worked at his San Francisco office the week before his death.
 
"Lin's legacy is international," said Karl Pister, UC Berkeley professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering and dean emeritus of the College of Engineering. "Almost every continent you go to there will be structures with TY Lin's mark on them. He was a one-of-a-kind person of incredible creative vision in structural design."
 
Lin was raised in Beijing. After graduating in he went to the US to study for a master's degree at Berkeley before returning to China. By the age of 25 he was chief bridge engineer of the Yunnan-Chongqing Railway where he oversaw the survey, design and construction of more than 1, bridges in mountainous regions.

He joined UC Berkeley's faculty in where he began his groundbreaking research in prestressed concrete, dramatically simplifying the design process for using the material and doing much to promote its use.

In , he founded the firm TY Lin & Associates - later renamed to TY Lin International - to help move prestressed concrete from the realm of research into real-world applications. Lin left the company in and went on to found San Francisco-based Lin Tung-Yen China, which focuses on engineering projects in China. Lin's son-in-law, Robert Yee, is president of that company. Yee said that Lin took particular pride in the role he played in influencing the redevelopment of Pudong, an island off

T. Y. Lin, a visionary structural engineer whose pioneering work was internationally acclaimed, died at his El Cerrito, California home on November 15, , one day after his 92nd birthday. He was born in Foochow [Fuzhou], China, on November 14, , the fourth of 11 children of Supreme Court Judge Ting Chang Lin and Feng-Yi Kuo Link. The family moved to Beijing soon after his birth and he was home-schooled to the age of He completed his precollegiate education at Hwei Wen American Methodist School and earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in Jiao Tong University’s Tang Shan Engineering College in That same year he commenced graduate study in civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving his master’s degree in His thesis on direct moment distribution was an important contribution to structural analysis and was subsequently the first student thesis published by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Returning to China, Lin was employed by the Chinese Ministry of Railways, quickly moving up in the ranks to the position of chief bridge engineer of the Chongqing-Chengdu railway at the age of 25, with the responsibility for the survey, design and construction of more than 1, bridges throughout China.

In T. Y. married Margaret Kao, whom he had known for a decade. Five years later Berkeley’s offer of an appointment as assistant professor of civil engineering was accepted, signaling the beginning of a memorable career of academic and professional accomplishment. Professor Lin was an extraordinary man, with a deep love for the University of California, Berkeley. During his tenure, he served as chair of the Division of Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics and as director of the Structural Engineering Laboratory from to He was appointed campuswide Professor of Arts and Science for the academic year to advance interdisciplinary teaching. From to , during a turbulent time on campus, Lin chai