Henry Petroski

Petroski was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Park Slope and Cambria Heights, Queens.[2] In 1963, he received his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College. He graduated with his PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968.

Before beginning his work at Duke in 1980, Petroski worked at the University of Texas at Austin from 1968–74 and for the Argonne National Laboratory from 1975–80.[3] Petroski was the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University.

In 2004, Petroski was appointed to the United States Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board[4] and was reappointed in 2008.

Petroski had received honorary degrees from Clarkson University, Trinity College, Valparaiso University and Manhattan College. He was registered professional engineer in Texas, a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society[5] and the National Academy of Engineering.

Petroski was honored with the 2014 John P. McGovern Award for Science.[6]

Petroski died from cancer in Durham, North Carolina on June 14, 2023, at the age of 81.[7][8]

Books

• To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985), ISBN 978-0-679-73416-1
• Beyond Engineering: Essays and Other Attempts to Figure without Equations (1986), ISBN 978-0-312-07785-3
• The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), ISBN 978-0-679-73415-4
• The Evolution of Useful Things (1992), ISBN 978-0-679-74039-1
• Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering (1994), ISBN 978-0-521-46649-3
• Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and The Spanning of America (1995), ISBN 978-0-679-76021-4
• Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing (1996), ISBN 978-0-674-46368-4
• Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (1997), ISBN 978-0-375-70024-8
• The Book on the Bookshelf (1999), ISBN 978-0-375-70639-4
• Paperboy: Confessions of a Future engineer (2002), ISBN 978-0-375-71898-4
• Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (2003), ISBN 978-1-4000-3293-8
• Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering (2004), ISBN 978-1-4000-3294-5
• Success Through Failure: The Paradox of Design. (2006), ISBN 978-0-691-13642-4
• The Toothpick: Technology and Culture. (2007), ISBN 978-0-307-27943-9
• The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems. (2010), ISBN 978-0-307-27245-4
• The Engineer's Alphabet: Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession. (2011), ISBN 978-1-107-01506-7
• To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure. (2012), ISBN 978-0-674-06584-0
• The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship. (2014), ISBN 978-0-393-24204-1
• The Road Taken: The History and Future of America's Infrastructure. (2016), ISBN 978-1-63286-360-7
• Force: What It Means to Push and Pull, Slip and Grip, Start and Stop. (2022), ISBN 978-0-300-26079-3

Articles

• "Engineering: Scientific Status," in Modern Scientific Evidence, 2002, vol. 3, part 3, pp. 14–54.
• "The Origins, Founding, and Early Years of the American Society of Civil Engineers: A Case Study in Successful Failure Analysis," in American Civil Engineering History: The Pioneering Years, B. G. Dennis, Jr., et al., editors, Proceedings of the Fourth National Congress on Civil Engineering History and Heritage, ASCE Annual Meeting, November 2–6, 2002, pp. 57–66.
• The Importance of Engineering History," International Engineering History and Heritage: Improving Bridges to ASCE's 150th Anniversary, Jerry R. Rogers and Augustine J. Fredrich, editors. History Congress proceedings, American Society of Civil Engineers, Houston, Texas, October 2001, pp. 1–7.
• "Reference Guide on Engineering Practice and Methods," in Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 2nd edition, Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center, 2000. pp. 577–24.
• "The Britannia Tubular Bridge: A Paradigm of Failure-Driven Design," reprinted in Structural and Civil Engineering Design, William Addis, ed. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1999, pp. 313–24.
• "Polishing the Gem: A First-Year Design Project," Journal of Engineering Education, October 1998, pp. 445–49.
• "Drink Me, How Americans came to have cup holders in their cars", Slate Magazine, March 15, 2004
• "Stick Figure, The marketing genius who brought us the toothpick", Slate Magazine, Oct. 31, 2007
• "Infrastructure," American Scientist, September–October 2009, pp. 370–74.
• "Bridging the Gap," New York Times Magazine, June 14, 2009, pp. 11–12.
• "Want to Engineer Real Change? Don’t Ask a Scientist," Washington Post, Outlook Section, January 25, 2009, p. B4.
• "Calder as Artist-Engineer: Vectors, Velocities," in Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926–1933, ed. Joan Simon and Brigitte Leal (New York, Paris, and New Haven: Whitney Museum of American Art, Centre Pompidou, and Yale University Press, 2008), pp. 178–83.
• "The Importance of Civil Engineering History," Proceedings, International Civil Engineering History Symposium, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, Toronto, June 2–4, 2005, pp. 3–8.
• "The Evolution of Useful Things: Success through Failure," Proceedings of the Design History Society Conference on Design and Evolution, Delft, The Netherlands, August 3-September 2, 2006. In CD format.
• "An American Perspective on Telford," The 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Thomas Telford: Collected Papers from a Commemorative Conference Held on 2 July 2007, Royal Society of Edinburgh, pp. 44–46.
• "Foot in Mouth: The Toothpick’s Surprising Debt to the Shoe," Huntington Frontiers, Spring/Summer 2007, pp. 22–24.
• "What’s in a Nametag?" American Scientist, July–August 2007, pp. 304–08.
• "The Paradox of Failure," Los Angeles Times, August 4, 2007, p. A17.
• "Success and Failure: Two Faces of Design," The Bent of Tau Beta Pi, Fall 2007, pp. 27–30.
• "Picky, Picky, Picky," Los Angeles Times, October 30, 2007, p. A23.
• "The Glorious Toothpick," The American, November/December 2007, pp. 76–80.

• John P. McGovern Award in Science, Cosmos Club Foundation (2014)
• Barnett-Uzgiris Product Safety Design Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2012)
• G. Brooks Earnest Lecture Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, Cleveland Section (2012)
• Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree, Missouri University of Science & Technology (2011)
• Norman Augustine Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communications, American Association of Engineering Societies (2009)
• Honorary Member, Association of Polish-American Engineers, Polonia Technica (2008)
• Charles S. Barrett Silver Medal, American Society for Materials International, Rocky Mountain Chapter (2008)
• Member, American Philosophical Society (2006; inducted 2008)
• Distinguished Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (2008)
• Pratt School of Engineering Alumni Council Distinguished Service Award (2007)[9]
• Washington Award (2006)[10][11]
• Tau Beta Pi, Member (2003)
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow (2003)
• Honorary Doctor of Pedagogy Degree, Manhattan College (2003)
• Honorary Member, The Moles (2002)
• Fellow, The Institution of Engineers of Ireland (2000)
• Honorary Doctor of Science degree, Valparaiso University (1999)
• Eminent Speaker, Institution of Engineers, Australia, Structural College (1998)
• Tetelman Fellow, Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University (1998)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.) (1997)
• Elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1997 for books, articles, and lectures on engineering and the profession that have reached and influenced a wide range of audiences. (inducted 1997)
• Orthogonal Medal, Graphic Communications Faculty, North Carolina State University (1996)
• Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (1996)
• Alumni Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1994)
• Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award, American Society of Civil Engineers (1993)
• Outstanding Graduate, School of Engineering Centennial Award, Manhattan College (1992)
• National Lecturer, Sigma Xi (1991–93)
• Ralph Coats Roe Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1991)
• Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1990–91)
• Honorary Doctor of Science degree, Clarkson University (1990)
• Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities (1987–88)
• Fellow, National Humanities Center (1987–88)
• Illinois Arts Council Literary Award (1976)
• Sigma Xi (Illinois Chapter) Graduate Student Paper Award, (1968)
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Teaching Fellowship (1963–64)

• Civil Engineering Faculty Website at Duke University
• Prism Magazine Article
• Success Through Failure book
• Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board Biography
• Learning from bridge failure: Collapses such as the I-35W in Minneapolis give engineers the best clues about what not to do. Let's hope the lessons are remembered. by Henry Petroski. LA Times, op-ed, August 4, 2007.
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Henry Petroski at IMDb