Freudenthal, Alfred Martin

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FREUDENTHAL, ALFRED MARTIN

FREUDENTHAL, ALFRED MARTIN (1906–1977), civil engineer. Born in Poland, his degrees in civil engineering were awarded in Prague (1929) and Lwow (1932). He worked as a structural designer in Prague and Warsaw before immigrating to Palestine and becoming resident engineer and then chief structural engineer of the Port of Tel Aviv (1935–45). For ten years he served on the faculty of Haifa Technion as professor of civil engineering. In 1947 he moved to the United States and in 1949 became professor of civil engineering at Columbia University. He later joined George Washington University's engineering department where he taught until his death. His specialties included metal fatigue and the theory of plasticity. He wrote Verbundstuetzen fuer hohe Lasten (1933) and Inelastic Behavior of Engineering Materials and Structures (1950). In honor of Freudenthal's exceptional contributions to research, in 1975 the American Society of Civil Engineers instituted the Alfred M. Freudenthal Medal, awarded to individuals in recognition of distinguished achievement in safety and reliability studies in civil engineering.

website:

www.asce.org/pressroom/honors.

[Ruth Rossing (2nd ed.)]