John E. Breen, P.E.
South and Central Texas was the very birthplace of the fabled cowboys who did so much to open the western frontier. In fact, the legendary Chisholm Trail ran directly through Austin, within pistol shot of the convention hotel. It was the superhighway of its day, an unpaved road for over an estimated 5,460,000 cattle driven north before the technological progress of barbed wire effectively ended the open range.
The success of the fabled cowboys was due to their willingness to freely give and share information, to listen to experience and the voices of reason, and above all, to follow simple but highly effective rules, largely unwritten, the so called Code of the West. Reflection on the key characteristics of this Code - clear understanding, appreciation of the benefits to society, and certain public enforcement - can lead us to a better understanding of problems and potential for improvements in our chosen field. Today, an ever growing myriad of complex and sometimes contradictory building, bridge and materials standards threaten to engulf the modern structural engineer. In stead of unleashing creativity of structural engineers, they often seem to present hidden snares, traps for the unwary, ambushes for the less skilled.
Besides tracing the history and underlying philosophy of contemporary consensus standards for buildings and bridges, a number of examples will be used to suggest strategies for more effective codes and standards. It is desirable to share both experience and reason using the wired networks of the world wide web, the information age equivalent of the campfire talk of yesteryear.
John E. Breen holds the Nasser I Al Rashid Chair in Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a Fellow of ASCE where his research papers won 3 T Y Lin Medals and a Croes Medal. For a long time he was a Member of the ASCE 7 Committee on Building Loads and is a past chair of the ASCE Committee on Masonry and Reinforced Concrete.
He is an Honorary Member of ASBI for his pioneering contributions to segmental bridge technology. An Honorary Member of ACI , he has been widely recognized for his research and development work in structural concrete bridges and buildings. ACI Awards for papers include 2 Wason Medals, 2 Reese Medals, a C P Siess Award and a Structural Engineering Award. He also received numerous ACI personal awards and the prestigious fib Freyssinet Medal.
He has been a long term member and former Chair of the ACI 318 Building Code Committee.
He received a BCE in 1953 and an honorary DSc in 2004 from Marquette University, a MSCE in 1957 from the University of Missouri, and a PhD in 1962 from The University of Texas where he studied under former ASCE Honorary Member Phil M. Ferguson. He has been a Member of the National Academy of Engineering since 1976, has been elected as a Foreign Associate of the Swiss Engineering Academy, and is a registered Professional Engineer in Missouri and Texas.
