William (Bill) Baker, regarded as the world’s foremost structural engineer, having designed the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai among other iconic structures, has been appointed by the University of Cambridge to serve for five years as Honorary Professor of Structural Engineering Design.
Bill is the Structural Engineering Partner of consulting engineering firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in Chicago. Accolades and awards collected throughout his professional, teaching and research career in structural engineering include honorary doctorates from the University of Stuttgart and Heriot-Watt University, an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Lifetime Award for Design; and the Fazlur Rahman Khan medal from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Professor Campbell Middleton, Director of the Laing O’Rourke Centre, said: “We are all delighted that the University is recognising Bill Baker’s contributions to the professional and academic sectors. Bill first visited Cambridge University in November 2010 to deliver the inaugural Laing O’Rourke Centre's Distinguished Lecture. Since then he has returned regularly and is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Laing O’Rourke Centre and an Associate Member at King’s College.”
Bill’s research in Cambridge focuses on the work of Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) and its relevance to modern structural engineering designers.
Please click here to read the article published on the Engineering Department’s website. View the 2010 Distinguished Lecture, entitled Inspired Dreams or Wilful Excess: the Ethical Dilemma of Iconic Structures here.