Canadian consulting engineer wins Cermak Medal
June 4, 2007
By
Canadian Consulting Engineer
Peter Irwin, P.Eng. of RWDI has been awarded the Jack E. Cermak Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers. I...
Peter Irwin, P.Eng. of RWDI has been awarded the Jack E. Cermak Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Irwin is the president and chief executive officer of RWDI, a consulting enigneering firm based in Guelph, Ontario.
The prestigious Cermak medal is awarded to an individual in recognition of a lifetime of achievement in the field of wind engineering. Wind engineering is an important part of the design of structures such as skyscrapers and bridges whose size makes them susceptible to the forces of nature.<br>
During the year following receipt of the medal, Irwin will be invited to deliver the Cermak Lecture to a meeting of the ASCE.<br>
The citation will read: For his contributions to wind engineering through consulting, research and development on wind load effects on structures, including contributions to ASCE 7 and supervision of wind engineering studies of many landmark structures.”<br>
A previous winner of the award was Professor Alan Davenport, P.Eng. of Canada, who won in 2003. Other winners include Ahsan Kareem of the U.S. in 2002, Yukio Tamura of Japan in 2004 and Giovanni Solari of Italy in 2006.<br>
Irwin joined RWDI in 1980 and became president in 1999. His experience in wind engineering dates back to 1974 and includes extensive research and consulting in wind loading, aeroelastic response, wind tunnel methods, and instrumentation. He previously spent six years of wind engineering work as a research officer with Canada’s National Research Council and two years with the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, Great Britain. <br>
He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. <br>
He has published over 100 papers and won several awards for his work, including the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering’s Gzowski Medal in 1995. He serves on several committees for codes and standards, such as the Standing Committee on Structural Design for the Canadian Building Code and the wind committee of the US ASCE 7 standard.<br>
See www.rwdi.com<br>
