Desi Vasarhelyi

Life Member

d. January 1993

Born in Hungary in 1910, Desi Vasarhelyi received his diploma in civil engineering in 1933 from the University of Budapest. He went to Paris for post-graduate studies, attending the Ecole Nat. des Ponts et Chaussees. In 1944 he earned his DSc degree at the Technical University of Budapest. He worked as a structural engineer for the Palatinus Co., a bridge-building firm in Budapest. After the war he spent four years in Klagenfurt, Austria working as a civilian garrison engineer for the British Army.

He came to the US in 1949, naturalized in 1957. Shortly after his arrival he accepted a post at the University of Washington Department of Civil Engineering, where he served on the faculty for thirty years lecturing on structural engineering. He published numerous scientific papers. Who's Who in the West cited his achievements.

Professor Vasarhelyi joined SEAW in 1958.

Posted May 2012