Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan (1929 - 1982), born in Dhaka, Bangladesh (formally known as Dacca, East Pakistan), was a Bangladeshi-American civil engineer.
After completing undergraduate coursework at the Bengal Engineering College, University of Calcutta, Fazlur R. Khan received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Dacca in 1951 while placing first in his class. A Fulbright Scholarship and a government scholarship enabled him to travel to the United States in 1952 where he pursued advanced studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In three years Khan earned two master's degrees — one in structural engineering and one in theoretical and applied mechanics — and a PhD in structural engineering.
In 1955, employed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, he began working in Chicago, Illinois.
He is noted for his efficient designs for Chicago’s 100-story John Hancock Center and 110-story Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States since its completion in 1974.
One of the foremost structural engineers of the 20th century, Fazlur Khan epitomized both structural engineering achievement and creative collaborative effort between architect and engineer. Only when architectural design is grounded in structural realities, he believed — thus celebrating architecture's nature as a constructive art, rooted in the earth — can "the resulting aesthetics … have a transcendental value and quality."
Professional Milestones
- In 1961, was made a Participating Associate in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; in 1966 he became an Associate Partner and in 1970 a General Partner - the only engineer partner at the time.
- Received an Alumni Honor Award from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1972), an Honorary Doctor of Science from Northwestern University (1973), and an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Lehigh University (1980).
- In 1973, elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
- He was cited five times among 'Men Who Served the Best Interests of the Construction Industry' by Engineering News-Record (for 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, and 1979); and in 1972 he was named 'Construction's Man of the Year'. He was posthumously honored with the International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering and a Distinguished Service Award from the AIA Chicago Chapter (both in 1982).
- In 1983 the American Institute of Architects recognized Fazlur Khan's contributions with an AIA Institute Honor for Distinguished Achievement. The same year he was honored with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture "for the Structure of the Hajj Terminal, An Outstanding Contribution to Architecture for Muslims," which was completed over the last years of his life.
- He was honored posthumously by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois with the John Parmer Award in 1987 and with the commissioning of a sculpture by the Spanish artist Carlos Marinas, which is located in the lobby of the Sears Tower.
- In 1998 the city of Chicago named the intersection of Jackson and Franklin Streets (at the foot of the Sears Tower) “Fazlur R. Khan Way.”
- Made contributions in creating public opinion and amassing emergency fund for the people of Bangladesh during its War of Liberation. The Government of Bangladesh posthumously awarded him Independence Day Medal 1999 in recognition of his contributions, and a commemorative postal stamp was published in his memory.
