BECHTEL

BECHTEL 24.09. 1900 Aurora IN/USA 14.03. 1989 Oakland CA/USA Stephen Davison Bechtel was educated at University of California, Berkeley CA, from where he received in 1954 also an LL.D degree. He joined after studies his father’s office, as vice-president from 1925 to 1936, in which time the Hoover Dam was erected, and the more than 3,000 km long Trans-Mountain oil pipeline in Canada was completed. During World War II Bechtel was involved in the California Shipbuilding Corp. and in the 1950s was in charge of various boards dealing with general engineering projects. He was for instance a trustee of the San Francisco Bay Area Council, or director of the Stanford Research Institute. He was an alumnus of the year 1952 of the University of California, a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester Pope, and among the 50 foremost business leaders in the 1950s. He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, and recipient of its 1961 John Fritz Medal, and in 1985 elected to its Honorary Member, among many other distinctions. Bechtel was the creator of the construction empire in the USA. He was president of the Bechtel Corporation from 1936 to 1960, during which time the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the first nuclear power plant were completed. Under his aegis, the company became well known as a builder of huge projects all over the world. Works included projects mainly in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East, in addition to these in the USA. In 1960 his son took over, but the father remained active in the company, holding the title of senior director until his death. At age 84 he helped arrange a joint engineering venture with the government of China. Bechtel’s ability to see an entire situation at its reality meant that he could tackle several projects in several fields at once. His analytical ability and business genius won him many awards. By 1980 the Bechtel Corporation was responsible for over half of the power plants in the entire world, and was involved in the construction of large cities and plants in Saudi Arabia. He was not particularly involved in hydraulic engineering or research, but demonstrated outstanding capabilities in engineering for nearly half a century. Anonymous (1952). Bechtel received Moles construction award. Civil Engineering 22(3): 218. Anonymous (1964). Bechtel, Stephen D. Who’s who in engineering 9: 114. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1989). Stephen D. Bechtel Sr. dies at 88. Civil Engineering 59(5): 82. https://www.bechtel.com/BAC-Stephen-D-Bechtel-Sr.html P https://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Stephen_Davison_Bechtel.aspx P

BEEBE 15.06. 1886 Hampden MA/USA 13.12. 1954 Coeur d’Alene ID/USA John Cleaveland Beebe graduated as a civil engineer from University of Wisconsin in 1910. He joined first as engineer the Water Resources Branch of the US Geological Survey in Montana, then the US Forest Service in charge of the Prospect Creek Development from 1910 to 1912, and he was from 1913 to 1915 in charge of irrigation projects of the Power and Pump Co., Idaho. Next, Beebe was an assistant engineer of the Miami Conservancy District, Dayton OH. From 1917 to 1921; he was an engineer and manager in Clearmont MT, and then general engineer until 1925 in the states Wyoming and Montana. Further positions through the 1920s and 1930s were with Tibbetts, San Francisco CA, the US War Department, the Pacific Gas & Electric Co., culminating finally as chief division engineer for power-flood control surveys in Washington DC. Beebe retired from this position in 1948. Beebe is particularly known for hydraulics by his 1917 Report written jointly with Ross Riegel (1881-1966). This work, made for the Miami Conservancy District, deals with hydraulic jumps both in prismatic and in expanding stilling basins. Until then, few experimental works were conducted on this important free surface phenomenon. The main works further were conducted for either small supercritical approach flow Froude numbers, or for extremely small approach flow depths, resulting in scale effects. The results were not readily available but demonstrated that these complex hydraulic processes were amenable by hydraulic modeling. Beebe was also involved in the 1930s in the control of debris flow at Mount Shasta. In 1924, a large mud flow had deposited almost one million m3 of debris which muddied the Sacramento River. Beebe outlined means to counter future similar scenarios, which had also occurred in the 19th century, and were a constant threat to the Sacramento Valley. Anonymous (1941). John C. Beebe. Who’s who in engineering 5: 123. Lewis: New York. Anonymous (1955). John Cleaveland Beebe. Civil Engineering 25(2): 124; 25(2): 128. Beebe, J.C. (1933). Report on investigations for controlling the flow of mud and debris from the Southeast slope of Mount Shasta. US Forest Service: San Francisco CA. Paul, C.H. (1922). The Flood Control Works of the Miami Conservancy District. The Military Engineer 14(2): 141-146. Riegel, R.M., Beebe, J.C., eds. (1917). The hydraulic jump as a means of dissipating energy. The Miami Conservancy District, Technical Report 3. State of Ohio: Dayton OH. (P)