Beedle Lecture 2032: Composite Construction - Past and Future

This brief written contribution is meant to honor the memory of Dr. Lynn Beedle, an uncompromising, kind and generous mentor to several generations of structural engineers and researchers. I first met him at an SSRC meeting in New York City in 1989, and had numerous interactions with him in the next decade as he was a friend and collaborator of my colleague Ted Galambos. My interactions with Dr. Beedle led me to value three technical topics that he championed, and which constitute the broad themes of this paper. First, that we must recognize those who made initial significant contributions to a technical topic; too often we take their work for granted and do not make an effort to acknowledge and understand their contributions. Second, that we must have a thorough understanding of the development of current design provision in order to improve them; that means that sometimes we must break with the past and make a fresh start. Finally, that we must always be looking for new opportunities to improve and make steel and composite design more economical. Above all, however, I value the opportunity of having known Dr. Beedle and having been a part of the worldwide community that he developed and nurtured for over 50 years around issues of structural stability and tall buildings.

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