[Cce-faculty-list] [Cce-all-list] Sad news about Prof. Bob Lee

[julio ramirez]

GS,

I am deeply sorry to hear the sad news. Bob was a fantastic colleague 
and a mentor. The first
10 years since my arrival to Purdue in 1983 I worked with him in several 
research projects and
published a number of joint papers.

I concur wholeheartedly with Michelle's description of Bob. He has been 
missed since his retirement.
I crossed paths with him a few times. During my sabbatical leave at the 
University of Washington
in 2007 I had the pleasure of meeting with him for lunch once and he was 
happy and full of energy
as always.

May he rest in peace.

Julio

On 9/5/24 8:33 PM, Govindaraju, Rao S wrote:
>
> All:
>
> I am deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Bob Lee who 
> was on our faculty. I learned that he passed away while on a 
> motorcycle trip over Labor Day weekend.
>
> I know many of you have fond memories of Prof. Lee.
>
> Below is information that was shared with me as part of the message.
>
> GS
>
> --------------------------
>
> From his wife, Agency Bridge Reviewer Michelle Tragesser, we learned 
> that Bob graduated from high school in Chicago at the age of 15, 
> attended a local Purdue University campus until he was 18 and 
> graduated from the main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana at age 19. 
> In 1956, he began his engineering career as an intern at Oregon State 
> Highway Division, headquartered from the La Grande office, and then 
> moved to Oregon to work for Cornell, Howland, Hayes & Merryfield 
> (later known as CH2M-Hill), where he designed a pipeline suspension 
> bridge.
>
> After moving back to Indiana to be closer to family, Bob earned his 
> Masters and PhD degrees and joined the civil/structural engineering 
> staff at Purdue where he was a beloved professor, Structures 
> department head and Associate Head of the School of Civil Engineering 
> for nearly 40 years.  Bob was a great advocate for female engineers, 
> including Sue Frey of CH2M Hill fame, and Pat Galloway also from CH2M 
> Hill, who was the first and only female ASCE president and served on 
> the National Science Board on appointment by President Bush and the 
> Senate.
>
> Bob was also an avid kayaker (Rogue River, Class 5 by himself), sailor 
> (Mackinaw 333 mile annual yacht race Chicago to Mackinac Island), 
> motorcyclist, longtime chair of Tippecanoe County Historical 
> Association, and Border Collie dog enthusiast & rescuer.  During his 
> 25yr tenure as the historical association, Bob took a local festival 
> called the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon to a globally-attended event 
> that continues to grow.
>
> After retiring from Purdue in 1994, Professor Lee (Emeritus) continued 
> to consult with INDOT, area consultants and contractors, as well as in 
> surrounding states.  He was one of the two original developers of 
> de-bonded strands in prestressed concrete girders, designed elegant 
> variable-depth bridges for the new interstate system, and wrote 
> reinforced/prestressed concrete design programs for INDOT and others. 
> Working closely with contractors and consultants, Bob was an expert in 
> deck replacement on arch bridges to properly unload and reload the 
> arches without overstressjng them, with many crossing the Ohio River. 
> He was preparing to give a talk in October to ODOT’s Bridge Section, 
> which has several arch bridges.
>
> Bob found himself involved in many engineering endeavors wherever he 
> was, such as teaching seismic engineering at the University of 
> Washington and consulting on the Seattle Seawall project. He became 
> embedded at WSDOT to help prepare veteran WSDOT employees (qualified 
> by work experience through NCEES) to pass the FE and PE exams. Soon 
> counties and WSDOT offices across the state had employees wanting the 
> same support. Professor Lee’s School of Engineering, as his students 
> lovingly named, ran contractually for several years through WSDOT. 
>  These licensed engineers have served WSDOT in greater and greater 
> capacities. In 2010, he began teaching at Tacoma Community College, 
> where he taught physics, differential equations and electrical 
> engineering. Professor Lee became a beloved professor in WA, too.
>
> In recent years Bob worked in Load Rating here, and he was impressed 
> with his load rating team members.  He would say that he came 
> full-circle, finally living and working in Oregon. We are honored that 
> he chose to be part of ODOT Bridge.
>
> Bob was on his annual trip to Meeker, Colorado for the National 
> Sheepherding Trials, near Mountain Home, Idaho when he passed on 
> Sunday, September 1, 2024.
>
> Please be respectful of Michelle’s feelings, and if you need help 
> dealing with grief please contact one of the Bridge managers or EAP 
> resources at: PEBB Canopy Summary of Services 
> <https://ordot.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/sites/EmployeeSafety/Shared%20Documents/Wellness/PEBB_Canopy_Summary.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=P8g8aT&xsdata=MDV8MDJ8Y2NlLWZhY3VsdHktbGlzdEBlY24ucHVyZHVlLmVkdXxmZGU5ZDg3ZmQ3ZDk0M2RiNjUwYzA4ZGNjZTc1YjU0Nnw0MTMwYmQzOTdjNTM0MTljYjFlNTg3NThkNmQ2M2YyMXwwfDB8NjM4NjEyMjUyMTQ5NTUyNjYzfFVua25vd258VFdGcGJHWnNiM2Q4ZXlKV0lqb2lNQzR3TGpBd01EQWlMQ0pRSWpvaVYybHVNeklpTENKQlRpSTZJazFoYVd3aUxDSlhWQ0k2TW4wPXwwfHx8&sdata=aEI0N0crMDlRMFZRZzVaSmU3MnhMUTNuRUdmb0RiYWl6T25FaDJzZzlNQT0%3d>.
>
>
>

-- 
Julio Ramirez, Ph.D., Dist.M.ASCE
Karl H. Kettelhut Professor in Civil Engineering
Director, NHERI-NCO Center
Structures Group Coordinator
Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering
Purdue University
(765) 430-7853
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20240906/1f3173de/attachment.htm>