Purdue to Pay Tribute to Prof’s ‘Golden’ Contribution
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPurdue University will honor a former educator for his role in the creation of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. Charles Ellis, a civil engineering professor at the school in the 1930s and 1940s, will have a plaque dedicated Thursday at the school. He was the span's structural design engineer. November 18, 2013
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Charles Ellis, a Purdue University civil engineering professor long overlooked for his role in the Golden Gate Bridge project, will be honored with a plaque on Thursday (Nov. 21).
Paul Giroux, a nationally recognized construction engineering expert, will present the plaque to Purdue and the School of Civil Engineering during an 11:30 a.m. luncheon in the Purdue Memorial Union ballrooms, honoring Ellis' work as the structural design engineer for the span.
Giroux, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, was ASCE's chairman for a Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary event in 2012. The plaque, a duplicate of one installed at the bridge last year, will be presented on behalf of ASCE.
Until recently, Ellis, a Purdue civil engineering professor from 1934-1946, had not received credit for his pivotal role in the project.
Also during the luncheon, Purdue will recognize a $250,000 estate donation made by one of Ellis's students, Purdue alumnus Fred W. Apsey Jr., and his wife, D. Yvonne Apsey. Fred Apsey received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Purdue in 1941. The Apseys' gift will be used for civil engineering scholarships in honor of Ellis.
Giroux also will speak to a conference on campus about the Panama Canal.
Source: Purdue University