Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Monday, December 3, 2012 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
Henry Petroski
"To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure"
ABSTRACT -- A poor or faulty design detail is often offered as the sole explanation in the immediate wake of the failure of a structure, machine, or system. However, on closer examination and deeper analysis, the root cause or causes of the failure frequently prove to be much more complicated and interrelated. In this talk, the nature and persistence of failure will be explored and illustrated with case studies ranging in time from ancient to contemporary. Among the cases to be discussed are the structural design of ancient Greek temples, the sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage, and the 2007 Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse. The relevance of historical case studies to current and future designs will be emphasized.
SPEAKER -- Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. He is the author of a number of books on design and failure, including To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design and To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure. He also writes the Engineering column in American Scientist magazine and the &Petroski on Engineering& column in Design News. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
Colloquium Committee Sponsor: Barbara Scott
Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov