Henry Petroski

Research Area(s): Bridges
Design
Failure Analysis
History, Engineering
Structural Engineering

Henry Petroski received his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College in 1963 and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968. Before coming to Duke in 1980, he had taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Texas at Austin and was a group leader at Argonne National Laboratory, where he was responsible for research and development efforts in fracture mechanics. He is a professional engineer registered in Texas, and a chartered engineer registered in Ireland. At Duke, he has a secondary appointment as a professor of history. He is also a member of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

Professor Petroski's current research activity focuses on the interrelationship between success and failure in design. He also has a strong interest in the nature of invention and in the history of technology. His research has been sponsored by the Corps of Engineers, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and other organizations. He has published, in addition to fourteen books and hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines, over seventy-five refereed journal articles in such places as International Journal of Fracture, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, Journal of Applied Mechanics, Structural Safety, and Research in Engineering Design.

Professor Petroski is author of the book, To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985), and is the writer and presenter of the 1987 BBC-television documentary, "To Engineer Is Human," which has been broadcast on PBS. He is also the author of The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), The Evolution of Useful Things (1992), Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering (1994), Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and The Spanning of America (1995), Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing (1996), Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering (1997), The Book on the Bookshelf (1999), Paperboy: Confessions of a Future engineer (2002), Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design (2003), Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering (2004), Success through Failure: The Paradox of Design (2006), and The Toothpick: Technology and Culture (2007). He writes the engineering column for American Scientist and a column on the profession for ASEE Prism. He also lectures widely and is interviewed frequently on radio and television.

Among his honors are a Guggenheim Fellowship (1990-1991); honorary degrees from Clarkson University (1990), Trinity College (1997), Valparaiso University (1999), and Manhattan College (2003); the Ralph Coats Roe Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1991), the Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (1993), and the Washington Award from the Western Society of Engineers (2006). He is the recipient of a Centennial Award as an Outstanding Engineering Graduate of Manhattan College (1992) and an Alumni Award for Distinguished Service from the College of Engineering of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1994). Professor Petroski is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Contact via petroski@duke.edu or +1 919 660 5203 (office phone)
Visit via or 133 Engineering Bldg (office location)

Recent Publications (More Publications)

1. Henry Petroski, The Toothpick: Technology and Culture, , (2007)
   
2. Henry Petroski, Success through Failure: The Paradox of Design, , (2006)
   
3. Henry Petroski, Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering, , (2005)
   
4. Henry Petroski, Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design, , (2004)
   
5. Henry Petroski, Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer, , (2003)
   

• Distinguished Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (2008)
• Charles S. Barrett Silver Medal, American Society for Materials International, Rocky Mountain Chapter (2008)
• Journalism Award, Society for American Military Engineers, Northern Virginia Post (2007)
• Distinguished Service Award, Duke Univeristy Engineering Alumni Association (2007)
• Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2007)
• Member, American Philosophical Society (elected 2006)
• Washington Award, Western Society of Engineers (2006)
• Presidential Appointment, U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (2004)
• Tau Beta Pi (2003)
• Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 2003)
• Honarary Doctor of Pedagogy Degree, Manhattan College (2003)
• Honorary Member, The Moles (2002)
• Fellow, The Institution of Engineers of Ireland (2000)
• Honorary Doctor of Science degree, Valparaiso University (1999)
• Eminent Speaker, Institution of Engineers, Australia, Structural College (1998)
• Tetelman Fellow, Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University (1998)
• Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.) (1997)
• Member, National Academy of Engineering (elected 1997)
• Orthogonal Medal, Graphic Communications Faculty, North Carolina State University (1996)
• Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (1996)
• Alumni Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1994)
• Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award, American Society of Civil Engineers (1993)
• Outstanding Graduate, School of Engineering Centennial Award, Manhattan College (1992)
• National Lecturer, Sigma Xi (1991-93)
• Ralph Coats Roe Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1991)
• Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1990-91)
• Honorary Doctor of Science degree, Clarkson University (1990)
• Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities (1987-88)
• Fellow, National Humanities Center (1987-88)
• Illinois Arts Council Literary Award (1976)
• Sigma Xi (Illinois Chapter) Graduate Student Paper Award (1968)
• Sigma Xi, Member (1968)
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Teaching Fellowship (1963-64)
• see also distinguished lectures

• U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, Member
• National Academies 2008 Communications Awards Selection Committee, Member
• American Society of Civil Engineers, History and Heritage Committee, Chairman
• National Academy of Engineering, Member
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow
• American Philosophical Society, Member
• American Society of Civil Engineers, Fellow
• Institution of Engineers of Ireland, Fellow
• The Moles, Honorary Member
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
• American Society for Engineering Education, Member
• Society for Industrial Archaeology, Member
• Society for the History of Technology, Member
• Sigma Xi, Member