Henry Petroski

Henry Petroski (born 1942) is an American civil engineering professor at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he specializes in failure analysis. He is a prolific author, having written nearly one dozen books, most notably To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985) and a number of books detailing the design history of a multitude of common, everyday objects, such as silverware, pencils, and paper clips. He is a frequent lecturer, and a weekly contributor to American Scientist.

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1942 - American - Civil engineering - Duke University - Durham - North Carolina - Engineer - 1985 - Silverware - Pencil - Paper clip - American Scientist

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Petroski was born in Brooklyn, New York, and in 1963, he received his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College. He graduated with his Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968. Before beginning his work at Duke in 1980, he worked at the University of Texas at Austin from 1968-1974 and for the Argonne National Laboratory from 1975-1980. Petroski has received honorary degrees from Clarkson University, Trinity College, Valparaiso University and Manhattan College. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas, a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

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Brooklyn - New York - 1963 - Manhattan College - Ph.D. - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - 1968 - 1980 - University of Texas at Austin - 1974 - Argonne National Laboratory - 1975 - Clarkson University - Trinity College - Valparaiso University - Professional engineer - Texas - American Academy of Arts and Sciences - National Academy of Engineering

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