The Freedom Tower

Dr. W. Gene Corley, P.E., who led the federal investigation into the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center, received the National Engineering Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) on 7 May. He was one of six honorees during the organization’s 28th annual awards ceremony in the Great Hall of the National Academy of Engineering.

Corley, a preeminent expert on building collapse investigations and building codes, is senior vice president of CTL Group. He serves as the company’s managing agent for professional and structural engineering and is active in earthquake engineering projects. In 1995, the American Society of Civil Engineers selected him to lead a Building Performance Assessment Team investigating the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In addition to heading up the building performance evaluation of the World Trade Center, Corley also served as a team member evaluating the structural performance of the Pentagon following the 11 September, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The National Engineering Award is presented for inspirational leadership and tireless devotion to the improvement of engineering education and to the advancement of the engineering profession, as well as to the development of sound public policies as an engineer-statesman. Previous recipients include astronaut Neil Armstrong (1979) and former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine (1991).

Dr. Gavriel Salvendy received the John Fritz Medal “for his fundamental, international, and seminal leadership and technical contributions to human engineering and industrial engineering education, theory and practice.” A professor of industrial engineering at Purdue University and chair professor and head of the Department of Industrial Engineering at China’s Tsinghua University, Salvendy’s main research deals with the human aspects of design, operation, and management of advanced engineering systems. He has authored or co-authored more than 430 research publications, and is the author or editor of 27 books.

The John Fritz Medal, referred to as the highest award in the engineering profession, is presented each year for scientific or industrial achievement in any field of pure or applied science. It was established in 1902 as a memorial to the great engineer whose name it bears. Past recipients include Thomas Edison (1908), Alexander Graham Bell (1907), Alfred Nobel (1910), Orville Wright (1920) and Guglielmo Marconi (1923).

Dr. Colin G. Drury was recognized with the Kenneth Andrew Roe Award “for his exemplary leadership and distinguished contributions in promoting cooperation, understanding, and congruency across several engineering disciplines and related professions, including human factors engineering and ergonomics; industrial, manufacturing, quality and systems engineering; maintenance, reliability, and management engineering in the aviation area; and safety and health engineering in the industry at large.”

Drury is a distinguished professor and director of the Research Institute for Safety and Security in Transportation (RISST) at the University at Buffalo, where his work is concentrated on the application of human factors techniques to inspection and maintenance processes. Since 1989 he has been leading a team applying human factors techniques to reduce errors in aviation maintenance and inspection at RISST.

The Kenneth Andrew Roe Award is presented on behalf of the engineering community to recognize an engineer who has been effective in promoting unity among the engineering societies.