Helmut Krawinkler, John A. Blume Professor Emeritus of Engineering at Stanford University, passed away on April 16.

Krawinkler joined the Stanford faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1973 and “retired” to emeritus status in 2007.  He stayed active in teaching, research and professional practice until his death. He is best known for his research contributions in performance-based earthquake engineering, which were recognized most recently through his election to the National Academy of Engineering, the highest honor for an engineer in the U.S.  Just this past week Professor Krawinkler received the 2012 George W. Housner Medal from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. 

Krawinkler was a key PEER researcher since PEER's inception.  He was an early member of the PEER Research Committee and a co-leader of the Seismic Performance of Buildings Thrust Area during PEER's time as an NSF-funded research center.  Recently, he participated in the development of PEER's "Guidelines for Performance-Based Seismic Design of Tall Buildings" which has won numerous awards. His contributions to field of earthquake engineering, and the PEER Center have been invaluable to the profession.  He will be missed.

A memorial service is being planned for later this spring.