Plaque to honor Golden Gate Bridge designer Charles Ellis
November 18, 2013
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Charles Ellis, a Purdue civil engineering professor long overlooked for his role in the Golden Gate Bridge project, will be honored with this plaque. The plaque is a duplicate of one installed at the bridge during a 75th anniversary event last year. (Photo courtesy of the American Society of Civil Engineers) Download Photo |
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.
Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
Source: Don Fry, director of development for the School of Civil Engineering, 765-494-2236, drfry@purdue.edu
