University of California: In Memoriam, 1990
David Pirtz, Civil Engineering: Berkeley
| 1917-1989 | |
| Professor Emeritus |
David Pirtz died of a heart attack on June 10, 1989 at his home in Sonora, California. He was 72 at the time of his death. Born in Roundup, Montana, Pirtz received his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Berkeley and joined the faculty in 1950.
A highlight of his undergraduate education was an Assistant Engineer's job with the Panama Canal during 1942-43. At Berkeley, he served as the Director of the Engineering Materials Laboratory during the period 1973-75. Later, during 1975-78 he served the College of Engineering as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs. He retired in 1983.
Pirtz was a member of a number of honor and professional societies, including Chi Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Concrete Institute, American Society of Testing and Materials, and the U.S. Committee on Large Dams. He was an internationally respected authority on properties of concrete for dams and other massive structures.
Throughout the world his advice was sought for measurement of creep and thermal characteristics of concrete dams, bridge foundations, nuclear shields, and offshore structures. In particular, his expertise in instrumentation was sought during the construction of Oroville and Shasta dams in the United States, Bhakra dam in India, Itumbiara dam in Brazil, Reza Shah dam in Iran, and Guri dam in Venezuela. He was Principal Investigator for a National Science Foundation grant for the development of expansive cements to control drying-shrinkage cracking in concrete. His professional and research contributions were a major factor when in 1971 the Engineering Materials Laboratory at Berkeley was selected to receive the Charles S. Whitney Award for “fifty years of significant contributions to knowledge of properties of cement and concrete, pioneering work in construction practice, and outstanding leadership in engineering education.”
As a teacher and as a human being, Pirtz was hard-working, friendly, and highly enthusiastic about his work. He was usually the first person to arrive at the laboratory, and was always ready to help students, staff, and faculty colleagues with advice on complex research problems. According to some of his former students, his greatest contribution as a teacher was probably at a personal level because by his habit of working very closely with them he played a key role in their professional development. For many years, he served as an advisor to the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers at Berkeley.
Pirtz is survived by his wife, Carol Pirtz, children Anton Pirtz, Karen Pirtz Taylor, Brian Pirtz, Christine Pirtz, and Regan Pirtz, and five grandchildren.
Courtesy of University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb5f59n9gs&brand=oac4
Title: 1990, University of California: In Memoriam
By: University of California (System) Academic Senate, Author
Date: 1990
Contributing Institution: University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
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