CONTACT CIVE AT:

207 Engineering South
Stillwater, OK 74078

Phone: (405) 744-5190
Fax: (405) 744-7554

E-mail:
civilengineering@okstate.edu

MELVIN R. LOHMANN MEDAL

1991 - 2008

CELEBRATING ACCOMPLISHMENT

Samir “Sam” Lawrence dreamed of becoming a structural engineer starting at the age of 6. Throughout the years he has pursued his passion, and today, is known by his peers as an extraordinary engineer who has made an indelible impact on structural engineering throughout the world.
Sam Lawrence was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He began his professional education in 1960 by earning a B.S. in Engineering Physics at Al Hikma University in Baghdad. Professor David McAlpine, while teaching for a short period in Baghdad, encouraged Sam to pursue graduate study in Civil Engineering at Oklahoma State University. Under the tutelage of Professor Kerry Havner, Sam earned an M.S. degree in Structural Engineering from OSU in 1963. Sam is a graduate of the Engineering Management Program at the California Institute of Technology, and he completed the Executive Program in the Management of Change in Complex Organizations at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.
The professional career of Sam Lawrence spans 45 years in structural engineering related to new construction, retrofits, and modifications of existing structures. He began the first seven years of his professional career with Bechtel Power Corporation as a Structural Design Leader. He has spent the majority of his professional career, beginning in 1974, at Parsons, a worldwide comprehensive infrastructures services corporation with over 11,000 employees. From engineer to Structural Design Leader, Sam Lawrence has made a real difference for Parsons.
Throughout his career Sam has been involved in many once-in-a-lifetime structural design opportunities, and they have taken all over the world. Examples include his work as a project and supervising structural engineer on Prudhoe Bay facilities during the construction of the Alaska Pipeline; on international airports in Abu Dhabi, Athens, Greece, Guam, Seattle and San Diego; on the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo; on Marriot hotels in China; on an ethylene plant in Saudi Arabia; on waste processing sites at Savannah River for the Department of Energy; and on Disney Imagineering’s Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot Center.
Even with a demanding schedule Sam maintains involvement in many professional organizations. He was recently selected as Chairman of the Foundations Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California. Mr. Lawrence is a member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and has provided critical seismic evaluations of hundreds of buildings in Los Angles, China, Mexico and Japan. He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Sam Lawrence currently lives in Glendale, California with his wife, Lucille. Sam and Lucille have two sons–Frank, a CPA and John, a construction engineer.

In recognition of his outstanding original, creative, innovative, and enduring contributions to structural engineering modeling, analysis, and design work which have redefined and shaped the practice of the civil engineering profession on both a national and international scale.

ABOUT THE MEDAL

The Melvin R. Lohmann Medal was established to honor alumni of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology for contributions to the profession or to the education of engineers, architects or technologists that merit the highest recognition.

The Lohmann Medal was established in 1991 to honor Dr. Melvin R. “Pete” Lohmann, who served the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology for 36 years. While Dean from 1955 to 1977, Pete led the College to national prominence. He provided leadership at the national level in the movement to establish the professional school concept in engineering education. Pete served as National President of the Engineers Council for Professional Development and the American Society for Engineering Education.