Shattering the stereotype of an ab- sent-minded professor, 20-year academic Gregory G. Deierlein is as focused as any design engineer. In recent years, the director of the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University has concentrated on performance-based seismic design, developing a “rocking frame” intended to give seismic engineers another structural option.
Deierlein’s peers say the licensed engineer is an exceptional researcher, educator and leader in structural engineering. “He couples progressive thinking on innovative structural systems with a strong understanding of practical engineering design,” says Jerome F. Hajjar, a University of Illinois professor of engineering.