Jorj O. Osterberg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jorj Oscar Osterberg (born January 18, 1915 in New York City ; † June 1, 2008 ) was an American civil engineer, known for inventing various measuring methods and test equipment in geotechnical engineering.

Osterberg studied from 1931 at Columbia University (Bachelor's degree in 1935) and from 1936 with Arthur Casagrande at Harvard University (Master's degree in 1937). He then went to Cornell University , where he received his doctorate in 1940. He went to the US Army Corps of Engineers' Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi . In 1942/43 he taught at the University of Illinois and from 1943 at Northwestern University , where he stayed until his retirement in 1985. He then moved to Colorado and continued his extensive work as a consulting engineer.

Osterberg invented the (hydraulically operated) Osterberg Sampler, which was widely used in the USA for taking soil samples, and the Osterberg cell (Osterberg or O-Cell), which revolutionized the practice of pile sample loads for bored piles in the United States and beyond. For this he received the NOVA Award from the Construction Innovation Forum in 1994 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Deep Foundations Institute in 1988. The Osterberg cell is manufactured under patent protection by Loadtest Inc.

He was an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and was temporarily chairman of its section for soil mechanics and foundation engineering. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering (1975). In 1988 he received the Royal Swedish Medal. In 1985 he was a Terzaghi Lecturer and in 1993 he received the Terzaghi Award .

He had been married to Ruth Embree since his time in Vicksburg and had four children.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Osterberg, Jorj O.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Osterberg, Jorj Oscar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American civil engineer
DATE OF BIRTH January 18, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 2008