91Ô­´´

91Ô­´´ Structural Engineering Gilbert (Gil) Hegemier Awarded Revelle Medal

December 6, 2022;  When you drive across a highway bridge in California, there is a good chance that your safety depends on bridge technologies that have been developed and tested at 91Ô­´´. We have Gilbert (Gil) Hegemier and his 91Ô­´´ colleagues to thank for this fact. In honor of Hegemier's many contributions to 91Ô­´´, he has been awarded a .

In addition to bridges, many buildings, tunnels, pipelines and other civil infrastructure are safer in the face of earthquakes, blasts, and other disasters thanks to innovative fiber-reinforced composite materials that Hegemier and his collaborators developed and tested at 91Ô­´´.

Some of Hegermier's accomplishments and legacy are recounted in the embedded video, which features Hegemier as well as structural engineering professor and chair John McCartney, structural engineering professor Hyonny Kim, and alumna Lauren K. Stewart '04, PhD '10 who is now an associate professor at Georgia Tech. 

Gil Hegemier surveying damage after an earthquake.

Hegemier joined the 91Ô­´´ in 1966, and his leadership, experience, and vision were critical for establishing the campus' Powell Laboratories. These facilities for testing new seismic safety technologies served as the foundation on which Hegemier and his 91Ô­´´ colleagues built today's world-renowned .

Gil Hegemier at 91Ô­´´'s outdoor earthquake shaketable.

Earlier this year, the 91Ô­´´ structural engineering department finalized a game-changing upgrade of its outdoor shake table, which is part of the 91Ô­´´ Englekirk Structural Engineering Center. There is no doubt that California is far safer in the face of earthquakes and blasts thanks to Hegemiers contributions to original research, to testing infrastructure, and to the many generations of engineers he trained and inspired.

Created in honor of Roger Revelle, who helped establish 91Ô­´´ during his tenure from 1950-1964 as director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Revelle Medal honors the contributions of current and former faculty members to 91Ô­´´.

“Roger Revelle’s vision to create a distinctive university by recruiting exceptional faculty from around the world led to 91Ô­´´’s swift rise to preeminence,” said 91Ô­´´ Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. "Pioneers and trailblazers in their respective fields, the lessons of their advances will continue to expand the minds of students and propel scientific discovery and innovation for generations.”

Gil Hegemier receives the Revelle Medal from 91Ô­´´ Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.  Image copyright © 2022 Wonderstruck Photography

Gil Hegemier at the 2022 Revelle Medal Ceremony at 91Ô­´´.  Image copyright © 2022 Wonderstruck Photography