Ben Gerwick, Jr., was born in 1919 in Berkeley, California, and received his degree in Civil Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley in 1940. Following 6 years of service in the US Navy during WW II, completing as Commander of the USS Scania, he entered Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., a marine and construction firm founded by his father in 1926.
In the early 1950s, he became interested in the potential of prestressed concrete and converted the company's existing precast concrete manufacturing plant into the new technology of pretensioning. Early work was the development of prestressed concrete piles that the firm also installed. Later the firm developed the deflected-strand process for pretensioned bridge girders, the precast match-casting process, and pretensioned railroad ties. Overseas the company participated in setting-up prestressed concrete fabrication plants in Kuwait and Singapore, and domestically, in projects including the overwater extension of La Guardia Airport in New York.
Ben was active in the Prestressed Concrete Institute, serving as its President in 1957, and in the International Federation of Prestressing, serving as its President from 1974 to 1978. The firm first merged with J.H. Pomeroy, and then in1967, the firm became part of Santa Fe International, and Ben was given responsibility for international construction. In 1971, he joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley as a Professor of Civil Engineering. Concurrently, he set up a specialized consulting engineering practice, continuing the former construction company's name of Ben C. Gerwick, Inc. In 1988, this firm became affiliated with COWI A/S, Consulting Engineers and Planners, Lyngby, Denmark.
As a contractor, Ben participated in construction of the marine precast concrete bridge piers for such of major bridges as the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, and the construction of the concrete North Sea platform the Ninian Central. As a consultant, he participated in the development of several subsequent major offshore concrete oil platforms in the North Sea, of the floating concrete structure Ardjuna Sakti for cryogenic gas storage, and of the first long-span cantilever segmental bridge in the United States. His work on offshore platforms led to extension of prestressed concrete to offshore structures for the Arctic and Subarctic to resist sea ice and icebergs.
He was a consultant on major prestressed concrete bridges in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as in the United States. His work has included prestressed concrete offshore terminals and floating bridges.
Among Ben’s honors and awards were membership in the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction. He received Honorary Membership in the Concrete Societies of Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France as well as Honorary Membership in the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Concrete Institute, and the Prestressed Concrete Institute. He was presented with the Freyssinet Medal from the international Federation of Prestressing (FIP), and the Medal of Honor from the Prestressed Concrete Institute. He was honored with the “Golden Beaver” Award for Engineering from the heavy construction industry, the Distinguished Service Award from the Deep Foundation Institute and the Outstanding Projects and Lifetime (OPAL) Award from ASCE.
As professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, and in his many lectures to students and professional groups, he stressed the inculcation of a creative and innovative attitude in addressing engineering and construction challenges.
In 1999, Ben reflected on what he considered to be the most rewarding aspect of his successful 54-year career in construction and engineering. He said that it was not the many awards and recognition he had received over the years or even the exciting projects in which he had been involved. For Ben, the most valuable end results were the many close contacts and friendships he had had with people that were dedicated to and enthusiastic about getting something done; people who faced new challenges with creative thinking and had the courage to use their training and technical skills to accomplish great things. He found these people, both contractors and engineers, during the design and construction of major bridges around the world; he found them working in the North Sea installing massive floating concrete structures, in the Netherlands constructing innovative surge barriers to protect their country; and he found them along the inland waterways of the US building locks, dams and marine terminals. As an added reward, Ben found that many of these engineers and contractors had been his students at the University of California.
When asked to comment on Ben’s life, Bob Bittner, President of Ben C. Gerwick, Inc. said: “Ben was a brilliant engineer, but he was also able to lead and inspire people because of his human qualities and his sincere interest in others. He respected others and encouraged their best efforts while setting a high standard of professional excellence and ethical behavior. Ben was the ethical and professional compass for our company and for many engineers in our profession. We all consider ourselves fortunate to have known and worked with Ben. We will miss him dearly and continue to long remember him."
Ben is survived by his wife, Ellen Chaney Gerwick: children Bill Gerwick, Beverly Brian of St. Joseph, Mo., Virginia Wallace of Bainbridge Island, Wash., and Clifford Gerwick of Indianapolis: seven grandchildren: and four step children. His first wife, Martelle Beverly Gerwick, died in 1995. Ben and Martelle were married for 54 years.
Contributions may be sent to Ben C. Gerwick Fellowship Award Fund, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, 760 Davis Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1710
Friends are invited to attend a memorial service at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, at 2 p.m. on Feb. 3.
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