Mechanical and Civil Engineering Seminar

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Seminar Series

Title: The Geometry of Funicular Gridshells, Discrete Airy Stress Functions and States of Self-stress

Abstract: The presentation will explore the remarkable geometric relationships of equilibrium through the lens of funicular gridshells. The innovations of G.B. Airy, J.C. Maxwell and C.R. Calladine along with the insights from Isotropic Geometry provide a fertile path to the creation of gridshells and other light-weight structures. The concepts of self-Airy and mixed-Airy gridshells will be reviewed along with techniques for graphically identifying and maximizing the states of self-stress.

Bio: Bill Baker is a structural engineering Consulting Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SOM), where he led the structural engineering practice for over 20 years. He joined the firm in 1981, became a Partner in 1996 and transitioned to the role of a Consulting Partner in 2019. In addition to his professional practice, he teaches at MIT and the University of Cambridge where he is the Emeritus Honorary Professor of Structural Engineering Design. In the past, he has taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, Northwestern University and has lectured at Princeton University.

Bill is best known for the development of the "buttressed core" structural system for the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest manmade structure. While widely regarded for his work on supertall buildings, Bill's expertise also extends to long-span roof structures and specialty structures such as the Broadgate Exchange House and Broadgate Tower in London, the Entrance Pavilion for General Motors' Headquarters in Detroit and the Manulife Calgary Pedestrian Bridge. Baker has also collaborated with numerous artists, including James Carpenter, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, James Turrell, Janet Echelman, and Jaume Plensa.

He is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a member of the National Academy of Construction and a Distinguished Member of ASCE. He has honorary doctorates from the University of Stuttgart, Heriot-Watt University, the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Missouri.

NOTE: At this time, in-person Mechanical and Civil Engineering Lectures are open to all Caltech students/staff/faculty/visitors.