Ray William Clough

Background

Ray William Clough was born in Seattle, Washington, on July 23, 1920, to Ray William Clough and Mildred Nelson Clough. He attended Roosevelt High School, where he met Shirley Claire Potter, whom he married in 1942. As a young man he developed a strong interest in hiking, climbing, and skiing in the Pacific Northwest. In 1938, he and three friends completed the first recorded traverse of six previously unclimbed peaks in the Northern Cascades; the route later became known as the Ptarmigan Traverse. During the Second World War he worked at Boeing Aircraft Company, studied meteorology at the California Institute of Technology, served with an Army Air Forces construction unit, and participated in the occupation of Okinawa.

Education

Clough earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Washington in 1942. The university's engineering education connected civil-engineering practice with the infrastructure and industrial needs of the Pacific Northwest during the wartime period. He subsequently studied meteorology at the California Institute of Technology while serving in the Army Air Forces, and after military service entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's graduate program. At MIT he pursued structural engineering and completed a Doctor of Science degree in 1949 with research on the experimental and theoretical buckling of arches. His later academic honors included honorary Doctor of Technology degrees from Chalmers University of Technology in 1979 and the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1982.

Career

Clough joined the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Civil Engineering in 1949 and remained there throughout his academic career, becoming a professor in 1959 and retiring from teaching in 1987. He developed graduate instruction in structural dynamics and earthquake engineering, chaired the Division of Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics from 1967 to 1970, served as director of Berkeley's Earthquake Engineering Research Center from 1973 to 1977, and held the Nishkian Professorship of Structural Engineering from 1983 to 1987 before becoming professor emeritus. During the summers of 1952 and 1953 he worked with Boeing's dynamics-analysis research group, where research on aircraft structures contributed to the direct-stiffness approach that became part of the finite element method. At Berkeley, his research with students and colleagues helped formulate finite element analysis for structural and continuum-mechanics problems, including the analysis of dams, buildings, aerospace structures, and other complex systems. In the early 1960s he and Joseph Penzien helped establish the Earthquake Engineering Research Center, whose experimental program included a large shaking table for testing structures under simulated earthquake motions. Clough combined computational analysis with laboratory and field studies of structural response, including the behavior of multistory buildings, dams, and structure-fluid systems. He also served as a consultant on power stations, ships, dams, multistory buildings, transmission towers, offshore platforms, aerospace projects, and fluid-structure interaction. His 1975 book Dynamics of Structures, written with Joseph Penzien, became a widely used text in structural and earthquake engineering. He surveyed earthquake damage in Morocco, Chile, and Yugoslavia, participated in UNESCO missions and governmental technical delegations, and served as the first editor of the journal Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics.

Achievements

• Co-developed the finite element method for structural and continuum-mechanics analysis, helping transform computational structural engineering and design.

• Helped establish the Earthquake Engineering Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and advanced experimental and computational methods for earthquake-resistant design.

• Developed influential methods for analyzing the dynamic behavior of buildings, dams, aerospace structures, and other systems subjected to earthquake and vibration loads.

• Co-authored Dynamics of Structures, a widely adopted textbook that shaped generations of structural and earthquake engineers.

Works

• research paper

  • Dynamic Effects of Earthquakes

    (A study of the principal factors controlling the dynamic ...)

    1960

  • The Finite Element Method in Plane Stress Analysis

    (A pioneering paper presenting Clough's early formulation ...)

    1960

  • Stress Analysis of a Gravity Dam by the Finite Element Method

    (Co-authored with Edward L. Wilson. The paper applied fini...)

    1963

• research report

  • Effect of Stiffness Degradation on Earthquake Ductility Requirements

    (A technical study of stiffness degradation, ductility, an...)

    1966

• textbook

  • Dynamics of Structures

    (Co-authored with Joseph Penzien. The textbook presents me...)

    1975

Membership

Clough belonged to major professional and scientific organizations in civil engineering, structural mechanics, earthquake engineering, and national science. His documented affiliations included the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the Seismological Society of America, the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, the Royal Norwegian Scientists Society, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Water Conservation and Hydroelectric Power Research. Several of these organizations recognized him through fellowships, medals, advisory service, or board participation.

• Fellow; chairman of the Engineering Mechanics Division in 1964–1965; recipient of the Research Award, Howard Award, Newmark Medal, Moisseiff Medal, and Norman Medal.

  American Society of Civil Engineers , United States

• Elected member.

  National Academy of Engineering , United States

  1968

• Elected member; served on a dynamics panel advisory board concerning hardened electric power systems from 1964 to 1970.

  National Academy of Sciences , United States

  1979

• Served on the board of directors during 1957–1960 and 1970–1973.

  Earthquake Engineering Research Institute , United States

  1957

• Served on the board of directors.

  Seismological Society of America , United States

  1970 - 1973

• Participated in the association's professional activities.

  Structural Engineers Association of Northern California , United States

  1967 - 1970

• Elected member.

  Chinese Academy of Engineering , China

• Elected member.

  Royal Norwegian Scientists Society , Norway

• Honorary member.

  Institute of Water Conservation and Hydroelectric Power Research

Personality

Clough was described by academic colleagues and former students as exceptionally well prepared, effective in presenting complex practical material, and generous in sharing computational methods and programs with other engineers. Accounts of his life also describe a persistent interest in difficult technical and mountaineering challenges.

Quotes from others about the person

• Edward L. Wilson described Clough as a doctoral supervisor and mentor whose guidance had a profound influence on his professional development.

Interests

• Mountaineering and exploration of the Cascade Range

• Sport & Clubs

  Hiking, mountain climbing, and skiing

Connections

Clough was married to Shirley Claire Potter from October 30, 1942, until her death in April 2016. They had three children, Douglas Potter, Allison Justine, and Meredith Anne. His professional connections included Joseph Penzien, with whom he established Berkeley's earthquake-engineering program and co-authored Dynamics of Structures, and Edward L. Wilson, who worked with him on early finite element research and the analysis of concrete dams.

Father:

Ray William Clough

Mother:

Mildred Nelson Clough

Wife:

Shirley Claire Potter

Married Clough on October 30, 1942; she was a designer and died on April 17, 2016.

Son:

Douglas Potter Clough

Daughter:

Allison Justine Clough

Daughter:

Meredith Anne Clough

Collegue :

Joseph Penzien

Collaborated with Clough in developing Berkeley's earthquake-engineering program and co-authored Dynamics of Structures.

Collegue :

Edward L. Wilson

Collaborated with Clough on early finite element research, including the analysis of a concrete gravity dam.

References

• Professor Emeritus Ray W. Clough passed away University of California, Berkeley, account of Clough's career, contributions to finite element analysis and earthquake engineering, professional appointments, and major honors.
  2016
• Ray W. Clough: In Memoriam University of California memorial biography documenting Clough's birth and death, education, wartime service, Berkeley career, research, family, professional consulting, and international activities.
• Ray W. Clough National Academy of Sciences member record confirming Clough's dates of life and election to the Academy in 1979.
• Ray W. Clough Memorial Tribute National Academy of Engineering memorial tribute describing Clough's engineering career, professional influence, and honors.
  2019