A world-renowned structural engineer and member of the National Academy of Engineering, Thornton visited UD in 2002 to present a public lecture on the collapse of the World Trade Center.
In his talk, Thornton will share his observations on the “total disconnect between designers and constructors with respect to constructability” and discuss new computer-based tools that are improving the practice of structural engineering.
Through examples like the baseball stadium in Washington, D.C.; Soldier Field in Chicago; and Yankee Stadium, Giants-Jets stadium, the Nets arena, and the new New York Times headquarters in New York City, Thornton will discuss the positive changes occurring in the design and construction industry. “Paperless projects are a reality,” he says.
Thornton was founding principal of the New York-based Thornton-Tomasetti Group, where he spent most of his career. He earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Manhattan College and master's and doctoral degrees from New York University. Thornton is a registered professional engineer in 26 states.
His 44 years of experience with Thornton Tomasetti included involvement in the design and construction of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects in the U.S. and overseas, ranging from hospitals, arenas and high-rise buildings, to airports, transportation facilities and special projects. An expert in the area of building collapse and structural failure analysis, he has testified for many clients during litigation.
In 1978, Thornton led the engineering team investigation of the causes of the collapse of the Hartford Coliseum Space Truss Roof and the scaffold at Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia. In 1987, he directed the investigation of the collapse of the New York State Thruway Schoharie Bridge, and in 1996 he was a member of the FEMA Building Performance Assessment Team that investigated the Oklahoma City bombing. Most recently, Thornton was a member of the oversight team on the National Institute of Standards and Technology study of the World Trade Center collapse investigation.
Thornton is also known for his dedication to community service through his work as chairman and founder of the ACE Mentor Program, a nonprofit organization that each year offers guidance and training to 1,800 inner city high school students in architecture, construction and engineering in 28 cities across the U.S.
Sponsored by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the lecture series was initiated in honor of Arnold Kerr, professor emeritus of civil engineering, upon his retirement in 2004. Kerr is an internationally recognized expert in engineering mechanics, with a particular focus on railway engineering.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Marikka Beach at (302) 831-2442 or [Marikka@udel.edu].
By Diane Kukich
