Google, a search engine giant, is celebrating the 88th birthday of Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan in a creative manner through its iconic doodle, reports news agency UNB.
Khan was born in 1929 in East Bengal, British India, which then became East Pakistan in 1947 and then Bangladesh in 1971.
In 1972, Khan was named Construction’s Man of the Year by Engineering News-Record. He was considered the ‘father of tubular designs’ for high-rises. Khan was also a pioneer in computer-aided design (CAD). He was the designer of the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), the tallest building in the world until 1998 and the 100-storey John Hancock Center.
Khan is called the ‘Einstein of structural engineering’ and the ‘Greatest Structural Engineer of the 20th Century’ for his innovative use of structural systems that remain fundamental to modern skyscraper construction.
Although best known for skyscrapers, Khan was also an active designer of other kinds of structures, including the Hajj airport terminal, the McMath-Pierce solar telescope, and several stadium structures. Khan died of cardiac arrest on March 27, 1982 while on a visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the age of 52. The Google Doodle celebrating Khan’s life and accomplishments was created by Lydia Nichols.
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