Robert E. Englekirk

Adjunct Professor, Structural Engineering

Earthquake-resistant design, creative seismic bracing systems, Englekirk Companies, NEES Large High Performance Shake Table

Professor Englekirk chairs the industry board supporting development of the Jacobs School's new earthquake and blast test center at Camp Elliott, featuring the world's first outdoor shake table. When it opens in the fall of 2004, the facility will deliver unprecedented abilities to gauge full-scale structural response to seismic and other convulsive activities. About $1 million for the facility has been raised from companies represented on the Camp Elliott Board of diredtors, which also is helping target research at important real-world problems. One pressing matter is defining the relationship between materials strength and performance during earthquakes. Englekirk became an adjunct faculty member here in 1998, but has collaborated with UCSD engineers since the 1980s. A couple of notable technologies developed by Englekirk in part at the Jacobs School are a hybrid beam system and the Dywidag Ductile Connector (DDC). The hybrid beam is an assembly of pre-cast elements that are joined by post-tensioning. It was first deployed in 2002 in the Englekirk-engineered Paramount apartments in San Francisco. The DDC flexes like a shock absorber to dissipate seismic energy normally released via material damage. Named for a German manufacturing firm that licenses the technology, it was incorporated into the landmark Hollywood Highlands project.

Capsule Bio:
Robert E. Englekirk is founder of the Englekirk Companies, responsible for more than $100 billion worth of construction including two recent Los Angeles landmarks: Hollywood and Highland with its centerpiece Kodak Theater and the billion-dollar Getty Center. Englekirk's mark can also be seen on San Diego's skyline. He was the structural engineer of the Emerald Plaza Center highrise and the Horton Plaza shopping mall downtown. Englekirk's first commission was the Hilton Hawaiian Village Complex in Honolulu. Since retiring from the day to day running of his companies in 2001, Englekirk has spent much of his time teaching and writing. He is the author of several seminal works in structural design and earthquake-resistant engineering. Englekirk was the recipient of the Jacobs School's Outstanding Executive Award in 2003. He received his Ph.D. in 1970 from UCLA.

Institute Affiliation:
Chairperson,
Camp Elliott Board of Directors