Obituary Prof. Tien H. Wu (1923-2018)
We are saddened to relay that Dr. Tien H. (T.H.) Wu passed away on Thursday, June 7, 2018. He served as a faculty member at The Ohio State University from 1965 to his retirement in 1994. Professor Wu taught undergraduate and graduate classes in geotechnical engineering on topics such as soil mechanics, rock mechanics, soil properties, advanced soil mechanics, seepage, foundations and earthwork design, and probability and statistics. He remained an active professor emeritus, collaborating with other geotechnical engineers on books and journals.
His research included the topics of strength properties of soil and rock, glaciology in Alaska and Antarctica, stability of embankments and natural slopes, groundwater and seepage, soil-structure interaction of buried tubes, risk and reliability assessment for foundations and slopes, safety of dams, and biotechnical reinforcement of slopes. He had over 90 technical publications resulting from his research and published several books on Soil Mechanics and Soil Dynamics.
Professor Wu’s professional service has included several committees and/or panels of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Research Council (Transportation Research Board, Geotechnical Board), the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and the National Science Foundation.
His many awards include the U.S. Antarctica Service Medal in 1967, the College of Engineering Research Award in 1988, the ASCE State-of-the Art Award in 1990, the Earnest Award from the ASCE Cleveland Section in 2000, and the Ralph B. Peck Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers Geo-Institute in 2008. Professor Wu was elected an ASCE Honorary Member in 2003.
