Mario Salvadori
Mario George Salvadori (born March 19, 1907 in Rome , † June 25, 1997 in Manhattan , New York City ) was an Italian-American civil engineer , architect , applied mathematician and educator . He was a professor at Columbia University .
Life
Salvadori's father was an engineer for a telephone company and then for the city of Genoa and in a leading position in a Spanish gas and electricity company, which is why Salvadori grew up temporarily in Madrid . He studied at the University of Rome , where he received his doctorate in engineering (1930) and in mathematics (1933). He taught until 1938 at the University of Rome in the engineering faculty and in the institute for applications of analysis of his teacher Mauro Picone . In between he was at the University of London, where he did research on photoelasticity. He was well acquainted with Enrico Fermi , who got him a scholarship to the United States in 1938 to study the first attempts at television. On his return he lost his position at the University of Rome. After the political situation became intolerable for him (his mother was Jewish and her family was exposed to pressure in fascist Italy and Salvadori an opponent of the fascists and pacifists) he went to the USA in 1938. There he worked in 1940 for a railway company (Lionel Trains in New Jersey) on train schedules and from 1940 was initially in a temporary position at Columbia University. During the war he did research in connection with the Manhattan Project , but initially he knew nothing about it due to the secrecy. He taught at Columbia University with a professorship in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation from 1959. He was later James Renwick Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of Architecture. In addition, from 1954 he worked for the New York engineering firm Weidlinger and Associates, where he became a partner and temporarily chairman of the board in 1960. After retiring in 1991, he was Honorary Chairman.
He is known as the author of popular science books and introductory textbooks on the subject of architecture and structural engineering. He had a reputation as an applied mathematician and published several books in the field as well. He was known as a forensic engineer for investigating the cause of engineering design failure (from design flaws to earthquakes).
Salvadori was always aware of the social dimension of architecture. He was the founder and chairman of the Salvadori Educational Center on the Built Environment (SECBE), which was affiliated with the City College of New York and introduced young people to science through concrete experiences on bridges and other structures in their vicinity. His involvement began in 1976 when he was teaching underprivileged children engineering subjects in schools in Harlem. It was later named Salvadori Center.
In 1993 he received the Hoover Medal from the ASCE and in 1993 the Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education from the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and received its 1997 Founders Award. In 1978 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Columbia University and received its Pupin Award in 1991. He also received an honorary doctorate from the New School for Social Research (1991).
Salvadori was married twice and had a son.
He also works as a translator, for example of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks into English and Emily Dickinson's into Italian. In his youth he had a student jazz band in Italy (he originally wanted to be a conductor) and climbed in the Dolomites.
Fonts
Books on architecture and structural engineering:
- Structural Design in Architecture , Prentice-Hall 1967, 2nd edition 1981
- Statics and strength of structures , Prentice-Hall 1971
- with Robert Heller: Structure in architecture: the building of buildings , Prentice-Hall 1963, 3rd edition 1986
- German translation: Structure and Architecture , Vieweg / Teubner 1977
- Why Buildings Stand Up: the strength of architecture , Norton 1980
- with Matthys Levy: Why Buildings Fall Down: how structures fail , Norton 1992, 2002 (illustrations by Levy)
- Building: the fight against gravity , New York: Atheneum 1979
- The art of construction: projects and principles for beginning engineers and architects , Chicago Review Press, 3rd edition 1990
- with Michael Tempel: Architecture and engineering: an illustrated teacher's manual on why buildings stand up , New York Academy of Sciences 1983
Books on mathematics in architecture and engineering:
- with Melvin Baron : Numerical Methods in Engineering , Prentice-Hall 1952, 2nd edition 1961
- with John McCormick: Numerical methods in Fortran , Prentice-Hall 1964
- with Ralph J. Schwarz: Differential equations in engineering problems , Prentice-Hall 1954
- Mathematical solution of engineering problems , McGraw Hill 1948
- Mathematics in Architecture , Prentice-Hall 1968
Others:
- with Matthys Levy: Why The Earth Quakes , Norton 1995
- with Matthys Levy: Earthquake games: earthquakes and volcanoes explained by 32 games and experiments , New York: McElderry Books 1997
Web links
literature
- Karl-Eugen Kurrer : The History of the Theory of Structures. Searching for Equilibrium , Ernst & Sohn 2018, p. 1057 (biography), ISBN 978-3-433-03229-9 .
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Salvadori, Mario |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Salvadori, Mario George (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American civil engineer and architect |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 19, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 25, 1997 |
| Place of death | Manhattan , New York City |