Ralph brazelton peck biography of mahatma gandhi

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ralph brazelton peck biography of mahatma gandhi

Dr. Peck had the opportunity to work with Karl Terzaghi early on in his career. He is the co-author of two books, one with Karl Terzaghi, "Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice", now in its third edition with G. Mesri, and one with Walter E. Hanson and Thomas H. Thornburn, "Foundation Engineering". During that time he influenced an unimaginable amount of students.

In 1948, he and Karl Terzaghi co-authored the most influential geotechnical engineering textbook of the time: Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice. The Karl Terzaghi Library tells about the birth and growth of soil mechanics. They have two children, Mrs. Nancy Jeanne Young and Dr. James Leroy Peck, and two grandchildren.

He received the degree of Civil Engineer from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1934, and was awarded a three year fellowship for graduate work.

He received many awards, including:


  • 1944 The Norman Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • 1965 The Wellington prize of the ASCE
  • 1969 The Karl Terzaghi Award
  • 1975 The National Medal of Science, presented by President Gerald Ford
  • 1988 The John Fritz Medal

  • In 1999, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) created the Ralph B.

    Peck Award to honor outstanding contributions to geotechnical engineering profession through the publication of a thoughtful, carefully researched case history or histories, or the publication of recommended practices or design methodologies based on the evaluation of case histories.

    He died on February 18, 2008, from congestive heart failure.

    Ralph Brazelton Peck Wikipedia

    (Text) CC BY-SA

    Ralph Peck was born on June 23, 1912 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to O.K.

    and Ethel Peck. In December 1942 he joined the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Illinois at Urbana, from which he retired in June, 1974, to Albuquerque, New Mexico.


    Professor Peck's main interest has been observation of the behavior of earth and rock during construction and under stress. After eight months as a structural detailer with the American Bridge Company, he attended the Soils Mechanics classes of Professor Author Casagrande at Harvard until 1939.

    He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering.


    In 1937 he married Marjorie Elizabeth Truby, who died in 1996. Also, that same day he completed his graduate work and obtained a Doctor of Civil Engineering degree.


    Peck spent three decades at the University of Illinois. The Dead Sea project was one of Peck’s pioneering works.

    Ralph Brazelton Peck (June 23, 1912 – February 18, 2008) was an eminent civil engineer specializing in soil mechanics. On June 14, 1937, he married Marjorie Truby and obtained a Doctor of Civil Engineering degree.

    After receiving his degree, he worked briefly for the American Bridge Company, then on the Chicago Subway, but Peck spent the majority of his teaching career (32 years) at the University of Illinois, initially in structures but later focused on geotechnical engineering under the influence of Karl Terzaghi, ultimately retiring in 1974.


    Peck initially believed his field of study was in structures, but he later became focused on geotechnical engineering. The family later moved to the United States when young Peck was six years old.