A major gift to UC Berkeley has endowed the Faculty Chair in Earthquake Engineering Excellence within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This Chair was created with generous philanthropy from David A. Friedman (CE B.S. ’75), along with his wife Paulette J. Meyer, Phyllis Friedman, and Ted and Francis Geballe, as well as a matching gift from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as part of Berkeley’s Hewlett Challenge.
David Friedman, immediate past President and CEO of Forell/Elsesser Engineers and current Board chair, is one of the founding members of CEE’s Advisory Council, a committee of professional engineers, business leaders, academic leaders, and government officials who are committed to enhancing the strengths of CEE. David has served as Project Principal on a variety of new design and retrofit projects including community and civic facilities, university complexes, research laboratories, and transportation facilities. Currently, he serves as the lead engineer on the seismic retrofit of California Memorial Stadium. He also serves as a trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation.
David has always been a strong supporter of the CEE department. “CEE’s faculty, its graduate students, and its high quality research programs are all focused on the pressing issues of the day,” he says. “It is amazing how many societal challenges need civil and environmental engineering solutions.”
He also recognizes the importance of maintaining excellence. “Competition is fierce for faculty and graduate students, and support for CEE is imperative to keeping the United States at the forefront of the field of civil and environmental research and education. CEE has taken a pre-eminent role in advancing the research and science of earthquake engineering, past and present.”
“My own career in structural and earthquake engineering, and that of my colleagues at Forell/Elsesser Engineers, have been greatly enriched by the collaboration with the esteemed faculty at CEE. This endowed chair will hopefully assist CEE in sustaining its excellence in earthquake engineering research and education well into the future.”
Chair Lisa Alvarez-Cohen says, “We are extremely grateful to David, Paulette, and their family for the gift of the endowed chair. This generous gift will benefit the field of earthquake engineering now and for decades to come. Moreover, the funds from the chair will offer important support to both our faculty and graduate students. Through his work with the Advisory Council and his philanthropy, David is one of the strongest advocates of our department and of our students. We are the fortunate recipients of the generosity of David and his family and of David’s vision for the future of CEE.”