Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan honored in a series of lectures

World-renowned structural engineer, Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan, best known for his work on the Sears Tower, was honored in the first of a series of three lectures Friday in Sinclair Laboratory at Lehigh University, the Brown and White newspaper reported.

The series, sponsored by the civil and environmental engineering department and department of art and architecture, includes three guest speakers: Dr. Richard Tomasetti, Dr. Jeremy Isenberg and Dr. John W. Fisher.
Khan, known for his progressive skyscraper construction during the second-half of the 20th century, is credited with many design accomplishments, said Dan Frangopol, professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Designs include Chicago’s 100-story John Hancock Center and the 110-story Sears Tower, the tallest building in the U.S. at its completion in 1974.

Khan’s structures have remained foundations for skyscrapers.

His innovations improved construction of high-rise building, allowing the large structures to withstand outside forces, Frangopol said.

Khan is recognized for shifting engineering into a collaborative effort.

He believed that creativity could prosper when engineers, architectures and artists worked together for a common goal, Frangopol said.

Lehigh officials appointed Dan Frangopol as holder of the Khan endowed chair structural engineering and architecture.

Frangopol, an expert in structural reliability, optimization and life-cycle engineering, set up new research directions in life-cycle engineering and the maintenance and management of bridges and other structures.

Frangopol, who organized the lecture series, said the series focus is to educate students in Khan’s achievements and innovative thinking.

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