View source for Leslie E. Robertson

{{Short description|American engineer (1928–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox engineer
|name=Leslie E. Robertson
|image_size           =
|caption              = Robertson at the World Trade Center, 1995
|birth_name                 = Leslie Earl Robertson
|birth_date           = {{Birth date|1928|2|12}}
|birth_place          = [[Manhattan Beach, California]], U.S.
|death_date           = {{death date and age|2021|2|11|1928|2|12}}
|death_place          = [[San Mateo, California]], U.S.
|education            = [[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
|spouse               = Elizabeth Zublin (divorced)<br />Sharon Hibino (divorced)<br />{{marriage|SawTeen See|1982}}
|parents              =
|children             = 
|discipline           = [[Structural engineer]]
|institutions         = [[National Academy of Engineering]]<br />[[Institution of Structural Engineers]]
|practice_name        = Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA)
|significant_projects = [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]]<br />[[Shanghai World Financial Center]]<br />[[Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong|Bank of China Tower]], Hong Kong
|significant_design   =
|significant_advance  =
|significant_awards   = [[John Fritz Medal]] {{small|(2012)}}<br />[[IStructE]] Gold Medal
}}
'''Leslie Earl Robertson''' (February 12, 1928 – February 11, 2021) was an American engineer. He was the lead [[structural engineer]] of the Twin Towers of the original [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2011/09/the_world_trade_center_work_of.html|title=The World Trade Center: Work of genius, undone by the unthinkable|last1=Uhlfelder|first1=Eric|last2=Abrams|first2=William|date=September 10, 2011|website=nj|access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref> and served as structural engineer on numerous other projects, including the [[U.S. Steel Tower]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Shanghai World Financial Center]], and the [[Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong|Bank of China Tower]] in Hong Kong.

==Early life and education==
Robertson was born on February 12, 1928, in [[Manhattan Beach, California]] to Tinabel (née Grantham) and Garnet Robertson.<ref name="NYT"/> His mother was a homemaker, while his father worked assorted jobs.<ref name="NYT"/> His parents divorced when he was a child and he was brought up by his father's second wife, Zelda (née Ziegel).<ref name="NYT"/> He was briefly enlisted in the navy in 1945, at the age of 17. However, he did not enter active duty.<ref name="NYT"/>

He studied civil engineering at [[University of California, Berkeley]] and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952.<ref name="NYT"/>

==Career==
Robertson's engineering career began in 1952, when he joined Kaiser Engineering. He worked as a mathematician, structural engineer, and electrical engineer during this time. He was also part of the investigation team studying the collapse of an offshore drilling platform.<ref name="NYT"/> He later went on a road trip and ran out of funds in Seattle, where he then joined the Seattle-based structural and civil engineering firm Worthington and Skilling in 1958.<ref name="NYT"/>

When Seattle-born American architect [[Minoru Yamasaki]] won the competition to design the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], Robertson and his firm Worthington, Skilling, Helle, and Jackson (WSHJ) got the engineering contract.<ref name="NYT"/> Designed between 1966 and 1971, this was the firm's and Robertson's first high rise construction.<ref name="Steel">{{cite book | last=Koch | first=Karl | year=2002 | title=Men of Steel: The Story of the Family That Built the World Trade Center | publisher=Crown Publishers | location=New York | isbn=1-4000-4601-7 }}</ref> His interactions with Yamasaki led to the conceptualization of the tube design for the buildings with exterior columns that were two feet apart along the building's height, specifically designed to provide a sense of enclosure for people in the building.<ref name="NYT" /> This also meant that, unlike most skyscrapers of the time that were supported by concrete or steel frames with columns interrupting the interiors, the WTC design permitted column-free interiors, with the weight being handled by the exterior columns and the steel and concrete cores. Steel [[trusses]] supported the floors and connect exterior columns and the central cores.<ref name="NYT"/>

In 1967 Robertson was made a partner in WSHJ, which was renamed [[Magnusson Klemencic Associates|Skilling, Helle, Christiansen, Robertson]]. The firm split its operations in 1982, with Robertson renaming the east coast operations Leslie E. Robertson Associates RLLP.<ref>Leadership and Management in Engineering magazine. Volume 9, Issue 1, Engineering Legends pp. 46–50 (January 2009)</ref> Robertson would retire from the partnership in 1994, but would continue to work for the firm on projects until 2012.<ref name="NYT"/>

In addition to the World Trade Center, he was involved in structural engineering and design for other skyscrapers, including the [[U.S. Steel Tower|U.S. Steel Headquarters]] in [[Pittsburgh]], the [[Shanghai World Financial Center]], and the [[Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong)|Bank of China Tower]] in Hong Kong  designed by the Chinese-American architect [[I. M. Pei]], and [[Puerta de Europa]] in Madrid.<ref name="NYT"/><ref name="Cam"/> Further, Robertson engineered the building of museums in [[Seattle]], [[Portland, Maine]], and [[Berlin]] in addition to theaters and bridges.<ref name="Cam"/> Robertson structurally engineered the installation of American sculptor [[Richard Serra]]'s works.<ref name="NYT"/> He also helped coordinate the [[Citicorp Center engineering crisis|1978 repair]] of New York City's [[Citigroup Center]], which had been built with bolted joints that placed it in serious danger of collapse during a high wind.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Morgenstern|first=Joseph|date=May 25, 1995|title=The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/05/29/the-fifty-nine-story-crisis|magazine=The New Yorker |pages=48–49}}</ref>

Since the [[collapse of the World Trade Center]] in 2001, debates about the safety of rent-space-maximized designs have engaged the building professions, but the consensus among architects and engineers is that the World Trade Center actually withstood the impact of the plane with enough time to allow many thousands of occupants to evacuate safely.<ref name="NYT"/><ref name="FEMA">{{cite web|url=https://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/fema403_execsum.pdf|title=Executive summary|access-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref> Robertson's firm later participated in the development of a database of basic structural information for the towers of the World Trade Center (WTC1 and 2) for NIST and FEMA,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lera.com/sep11.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815082426/http://lera.com/sep11.htm |title=Leslie E. Robertson Associates support to NIST/FEMA|archive-date=August 15, 2009|access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref> and to record the undocumented structural changes that had been made to the buildings after construction began. His firm also stayed for the structural engineering of the [[4 World Trade Center]] building which came up at the same complex.<ref name="NYT"/>

<gallery caption="Selected works by Robertson">
File:World Trade Center, New York City - aerial view (March 2001).jpg|[[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], [[Manhattan]], New York City
File:Shanghai World Financial Center Far.jpg|[[Shanghai World Financial Center]], Shanghai
File:Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong).jpg|[[Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong)|Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong]]
File:Torres KIO (37719354701).jpg|[[Puerta de Europa]], Madrid
File:Pittsburgh-pennsylvania-usx-tower.jpg|[[U.S. Steel Tower]], [[Pittsburgh]]
</gallery>

==Personal life==
Robertson was married to Elizabeth Zublin and later to Sharon Hibino, with both marriages ending in divorce.<ref name = NYT/> In 1982 he married [[SawTeen See]], a structural engineer who also has served as managing partner of their architectural engineering practice, Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA), now called See Robertson Structural Engineers, LLC.<ref name="MITArch">{{cite web |title=The Edward and Mary Allen Lecture in Structural Design |url=http://architecture.mit.edu/building-technology/lecture/edward-and-mary-allen-structural-design |website=architecture.mit.edu |publisher=MIT Architecture Department |access-date=March 6, 2019 |archive-date=July 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720200032/https://architecture.mit.edu/building-technology/lecture/edward-and-mary-allen-structural-design |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Robertson died from [[multiple myeloma]] at his home in [[San Mateo, California]], on February 11, 2021, the day before his 93rd birthday.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/nyregion/leslie-robertson-dead.html|title = Leslie Robertson, Who Engineered the World Trade Center, Dies at 92|last = Bernstein|first = Fred A.|date = February 11, 2021|access-date = February 11, 2021|work = [[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

== Books ==
* {{Cite book|last=Robertson|first=Leslie Earl|title=The structure of design: an engineer's extraordinary life in architecture|year=2017|publisher=Monacelli Press |isbn=978-1-58093-429-9|oclc=992528782}}

==Awards==
*1975 Member of the [[National Academy of Engineering]] for "contributions in the design of tall buildings and development and application of wind-engineering principles to tall-building design for assurance of safety and comfort of the occupants"<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.nae.edu/MembersSection/MemberDirectory/28665.aspx| title =NAE Members – Mr. Leslie E. Robertson| website =NAE.edu| publisher =[[National Academy of Engineering]]| access-date =November 25, 2015}}</ref>
*1986 Honorary degree, [[Doctor of Engineering]], [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]<ref name="Cam">{{Cite web|title=Leslie Robertson|url=http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/IABSE/2001/lr.html|access-date=February 12, 2021|website=www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk}}</ref>
*1989 Honorary degree, [[Doctor of Science]], [[University of Western Ontario]]<ref name="Cam"/>
*1989 Construction's [[Engineering News-Record#ENR Award of Excellence|Man of the Year]] (now known as the Award of Excellence) by the ''[[Engineering News-Record]]'' for his work developing efficient structural systems and championing [[wind engineering]] research<ref>{{Citation| last=Lewis| first=Scott| date=April 20, 2015| title=ENR Marks 50 Years of Excellence| magazine   =[[Engineering News-Record]]| volume  =274| issue   =11| publisher =Dodge Data & Analytics| place=New York| pages =42–56 | issn =0891-9526| ref =ENR50}}</ref>
*1991 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, [[Lehigh University]]
*1993 Mayors Award for Excellence in Science and Technology for contributions to the design of the World Trade Center. World Trade Center Individual Service Medal for contributions to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center following the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing|1993 bombing.]]<ref name="Cam"/>
*1993 [[Gengo Matsui Prize]] of Japan<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=松井源吾賞について|trans-title=About the Matsui Gengo Award|url=http://www.jsdclub.jp/matsuigengoprize.html |access-date=February 11, 2021|website=Japan Structural Designers Club|language=ja}}</ref>
*2002 [[Henry C. Turner Prize]] for Innovation in Construction Technology from the [[National Building Museum]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=December 16, 2016|title=Awards for exemplary achievements in the built environment|url=https://www.nbm.org/about/awards/ |access-date=February 11, 2021|website=National Building Museum|at=Henry C. Turner Prize For Innovation In Construction|language=en-US}}</ref>
*2003 Honorary degree, Doctor of Engineering, [[University of Notre Dame]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Winger|first=Meghan|date=September 18, 2005|title=World Trade Center lead engineer to speak Wednesday. Notre Dame News|url=https://news.nd.edu/news/world-trade-center-lead-engineer-to-speak-wednesday/ |access-date=February 11, 2021|website=University of Notre Dame|language=en}}</ref>
*2003 [[American Society of Civil Engineers|ASCE]] OPAL Award for lifetime contributions to design<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.asce.org/opal/?all_recipients=1| title =Outstanding Projects And Leaders (OPAL) Leadership Awards Past Award Winners| website =ASCE.org| publisher =[[American Society of Civil Engineers]]| access-date =November 25, 2015| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20151125214829/http://www.asce.org/opal/?all_recipients=1| archive-date =November 25, 2015}}</ref>
*2004 [[IStructE Gold Medal]] of the [[Institution of Structural Engineers]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=July 16, 2015|title=IStructE Gold - List of Awardees|url=https://www.istructe.org/webtest/files/ac/ac3736c2-981a-4d8c-941f-8ebb61dea19f.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716133855/https://www.istructe.org/webtest/files/ac/ac3736c2-981a-4d8c-941f-8ebb61dea19f.pdf|archive-date=July 16, 2015|access-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>
*2004 [[CTBUH Skyscraper Award|The Fazlur Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal]] from the [[Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat]] for leadership in Structural Design<ref name=CTBUH>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctbuh.org/Awards/AllPastWinners/04_LeslieRobertson/tabid/1767/language/en-US/Default.aspx |title=2004 Fazlur Khan Medal Winner |work=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat |access-date=May 18, 2012 |archive-date=April 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413080636/http://www.ctbuh.org/Awards/AllPastWinners/04_LeslieRobertson/tabid/1767/language/en-US/Default.aspx}}</ref>
*2006 Distinguished Member of the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]]<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/About_ASCE/Distinguished_Members/Content_Pieces/Historial%20list%20of%20DistHonMbrs%20112415.pdf| title =Historical List of Distinguished and Honorary Members| website =ASCE.org| publisher =[[American Society of Civil Engineers]]| access-date =November 25, 2015| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20151125215555/http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/About_ASCE/Distinguished_Members/Content_Pieces/Historial%20list%20of%20DistHonMbrs%20112415.pdf| archive-date =November 25, 2015}}</ref>
*2008 Elevated to National Honor Member of [[Chi Epsilon]] national civil engineering honor society<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=National Honor Member Bio Page. Leslie E. Robertson|url=https://www.chi-epsilon.org/xewebgeneral2/About/NHMBio.aspx?MemberId=60|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=Chi Epsilon|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703094350/https://www.chi-epsilon.org/xewebgeneral2/About/NHMBio.aspx?MemberId=60|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*2011 [[International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering]] from the [[International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iabse.org/IABSE/association/Award_files/International_Award_of_Merit_in_Structural_Engineering/Merit.aspx|title=International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering|publisher=IABSE|access-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223111/https://www.iabse.org/IABSE/association/Award_files/International_Award_of_Merit_in_Structural_Engineering/Merit.aspx|archive-date=January 23, 2019}}</ref>
*2012 [[John Fritz Medal]] from the [[American Association of Engineering Societies]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aaes.org/awards/Descriptionsofthesevenawards.docx |title=Award Guide and Past Recipients |publisher=[[American Association of Engineering Societies]] |access-date=April 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511005038/http://www.aaes.org/awards/Descriptionsofthesevenawards.docx |archive-date=May 11, 2013 }}</ref>
*2015 [[International Civil Engineering Award]] from the José Entrecanales Ibarra Foundation<ref>{{cite web |date= August 21, 2014 |url=http://www.acciona.com/in-depth/recognizing-human-face-engineering |title=Recognizing the human face of engineering |publisher=Acciona |access-date=June 20, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012162436/http://www.acciona.com/in-depth/recognizing-human-face-engineering/ |archive-date=October 12, 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Christopher O. Ward]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.lera.com/leslie-earl-robertson Leslie Earl Robertson, 1928–2021] on the website of Leslie E. Robertson Associates
* [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/11/19/the-tower-builder "The Tower Builder", <EM>The New Yorker</EM>, November 19, 2001]

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{{John Fritz Medal}}
{{IStructE Gold Medal Winners}}
{{Engineering News-Record Award of Excellence}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Leslie E.}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]
[[Category:21st-century American engineers]]
[[Category:Deaths from multiple myeloma in California]]
[[Category:Engineers from California]]
[[Category:IStructE Gold Medal winners]]
[[Category:John Fritz Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan Beach, California]]
[[Category:American structural engineers]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:World Trade Center]]