Photo courtesy American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) will present the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Award, which recognizes the preeminent steel designers of their era, to Michael A. Grubb, PE, executive director at M.A. Grubb and Associates LLC and a leader in the bridge industry.
Grubb is the 13th person to receive the Kimbrough Award since 1941. Previous recipients include Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Fazlur R. Khan, Leslie E. Robertson, John Kulicki, and David I. Ruby.
“It’s hard to overstate [Grubb’s] contribution to American infrastructure over his career,” says AISC president Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. “He’s been a relentless contributor, and nobody can communicate the big picture and the details behind it better. AISC is proud to recognize his accomplishments.”
Purdue University’s Robert J. Connor, Jack and Kay Hockema professor of civil engineering and director of S-BRITE/CAI at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, pointed to Grubb’s decades of work developing AASHTO LRFD BDS provisions for steel bridges. “I am confident that [Grubb] has had either a direct or indirect role in helping move every ballot related to steel bridges for AASHTO for at least 30 years,” he wrote. “His knowledge of the history of steel bridge design is unsurpassed.
“I would venture that he has instructed more engineers than most faculty have instructed in their entire careers, in terms of numbers of individuals in the classroom,” Connor wrote.
Grubb has authored or coauthored 40 publications covering all aspects of steel girder bridge design, research work that consultant Karl H. Frank, PE, PhD, noted would satisfy tenure requirements at most universities. “[Grubb’s] publication record is extraordinary for a nonacademic.”
AISC will present the award during the opening keynote of NASCC: The Steel Conference in San Antonio March 20.
