George W. Housner was an eminent authority on earthquake engineering

Earthquake engineering

Earthquake engineering is the scientific field concerned with protecting society, the natural and the man-made environment from earthquakes by limiting the seismic risk to socio-economically acceptable levels...

 and National Medal of Science

National Medal of Science

The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...

 laureate. Housner received his Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 where he was influenced by Stephen Timoshenko

Stephen Timoshenko

Stanford University:* Bergman, E. O., * Kurzweil, A. C., * , * Huang, Y. S., * Wang, T. K., * Weber, H. S., * , * , * , -Publications:...

. He earned his Masters' (1934) and Doctoral (1941) degrees from the California Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology

The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...

 where he has been a Professor of Earthquake Engineering from 1945 to 1981, and Professor Emeritus thereafter.

Annually, in recognition of those who made extraordinary contributions to the earthquake safety research, practices and policies, EERI awards The George W. Housner Medal of the Earthquake Engineering Research.

Housner died of natural causes November 10, 2008 in Pasadena, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

 at the age of 97.

Partial list of achievements

• Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan
• Masters and Doctorate degree from Caltech
• Written numerous journal articles on earthquake engineering
• Chairman of engineering committee of Academy of Sciences
• Formed Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
• UNESCO representative to International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering in Tokyo
• AEC advisory panel on safety against ground shock
• AID consultant at University of Roorkee, India
• Chairman of Geologic Hazards Advisory Committee for California State Resources Agency
• Chairman of Panel on Seismic Design and Testing of Nuclear Facilities for International Atomic Energy Agency
• On Los Angeles County Earthquake Commission
• Member of Earthquake Engineering and Hazards Reduction Delegation to Peoples Republic of China
• President of Seismological Society
• Consultant to Japanese Atomic Energy Commission and Italian Nuclear Energy Commission and numerous nuclear energy projects in the U.S.
• Elected to National Academy of Sciences 1972
• Named Braun Professor of Engineering at Caltech 1974
• Chairman of NRC's Earthquake Society and International Association