Donald Friedman, PE

LICENSURE
Professional Engineer licensed in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
Certified in the practice of structural engineering by the Structural Engineering Certification Board (SECB).

EDUCATION
B.S. Civil Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1986.
M.A. Historical Studies, The New School for Social Research, 2005.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Principal, Old Structures Engineering, PC, 2007 to present.
• Principal responsible for managing historic preservation, structural design, and investigation projects.

Independent Consultant, 2002 – 2006.
Director of Preservation and Senior Associate, LZA Technology, 1998-2002.

• Preservation group leader responsible for managing historic preservation, structural design, and investigation projects, including the development of details for combining new and historic structures, and repair and restoration technique.

Principal, Friedman Structural Engineering, 1992-1995, 1997-1998.

• • Sole principal responsible for project management, professional engineering review, and personnel management for a seven-person firm engaged in structural engineering design, building investigation, and preservation engineering.

Principal, Friedman & Oppenheimer, 1995-1996.
Senior Engineer, Robert Silman Associates, 1990-1992.
Engineer, Weiskopf & Pickworth, 1987-1990.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture, 2000 to 2008.

• Building Conservation M.S. Program: Historic Structural and Mechanical Systems
• B. Architecture Program: Advanced Structures and Construction Systems

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute, 1998-1999.

• Reinforced Concrete Design; Structural Steel Design

Lecturer, New York University School of Continuing Education, 1996-1997.

• Historical Building Construction in New York

SERVICE
Expert Member, International Scientific Committee on the Analysis and Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH), 2007-present.
Member, Directors’ Council of The Historic House Trust of New York City, 2003-present
Panelist, New York State Council on the Arts – Capital Projects Program, 2003-2005.
Director, The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, 2001-2003.
Director, Structural Engineers Association of New York, 1996-1998.
Engineering Advisor, The Skyscraper Museum, reviewing technical issues in exhibits, 1996-present.
Director, Friends of the Seventh Regiment Armory, providing technical assistance in preserving an underfunded landmark building and its artifacts, 1993-1995.

PUBLICATIONS
Refereed Journals and Proceedings:
Guest editor, special issue on preservation engineering, The APT Bulletin, Winter 2005.
“Analysis of Steel Structure/Masonry Wall Interaction in Historic Buildings,” Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions: Possibilities of Numerical and Experimental Techniques, A.A. Balkema Publishers, 2004.
“Anchoring Systems for Architectural Terra Cotta in Curtain Wall Construction,” The APT Bulletin, Fall 2001. This paper won Honorable Mention for the Anne de Fort-Menares Award of the APTI.
“Methodology of Conservation Engineering,” The Journal of Architectural Conservation (UK), July 2001
“Multiple Structural Causes in Glazed Brick Facade Failure,” Preserving the Recent Past II, National Park Service and the Association for Preservation Technology, October 2000.
“Ambiguity in Building Investigation,” The APT Bulletin, Fall 2000.
“Cast-Iron Columns in Renovation Design,” American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of the Performance of Constructed Facilities, August 1995.

Periodicals:
“Preservation Engineering: Early Reinforced Concrete and Designed Masonry,” Structure, September 2005.
“Preservation Engineering: Cast Iron and Floor Systems,” Structure, September 2004.
“Empire State Lessons Endure,” Engineering News-Record, July 24, 2000.
“Empire State Building Still Astonishes,” The Independent (UK), January 23 1999.
“Taking Stock: Investigation of Building Structure,” Building Renovation, Winter 1995
“Scaffolding in Renovation,” Building Renovation, November-December 1993.

Books:
After 9-11: An Engineer’s Work at the World Trade Center, Philadelphia: Xlibris Books, 2002.
The Investigation of Buildings, New York: Norton Professional Books, 2000.
Willis, Carol, and Friedman, Donald (1998), Building the Empire State, New York: Norton Professional Books, 1998.
The Design of Renovations, with Nathaniel Oppenheimer, New York: Norton Professional Books, 1997.
Historical Building Construction, New York: Norton Professional Books, 1995.

Presentations:
“Terra Cotta as Structure,” Louis Sullivan Terra Cotta Symposium hosted by the Association for Preservation Technology Northeast Chapter, WASA, and the Cooper Union, October 27, 2006, New York.
“The Darlington Building Collapse: Modern Engineering and Obsolete Systems,” 4th Forensic Conference of the American Society of Civil Engineers, October 8, 2006, Cleveland.
“Building Code Enforced Evolution in Early Skeleton Buildings,” Second International Conference on Construction History hosted by the Construction History Society, April 1, 2006, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
“Modern Building Skeletons,” History of Iron & Steel, Part II: Transition from Iron to Steel symposium hosted by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology, April 30, 2005, Philadelphia.
“Investigation and Condition of Wellington Row,” hosted by the Turpin Bannister Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, April 19, 2005, Albany, New York.
“Conservation Engineering for (Not So) Old Buildings” presented at the American Lime Conference, May 21, 2004, Lynchburg, VA.
“Inadvertent Structural Action in Traditional Buildings; or, Why Hasn’t That Fallen Down Yet?” presented at 21st Century Preservation – Conservation and Craftsmanship, Association for Preservation Technology, September 19, 2003, Portland, ME.
“The Engineer and Preservation Practice” presented at Texas A&M University, February 20, 2003, College Station, TX.
“Building Performance at the World Trade Center Site” presented at the American Society of Civil Engineers, Met Section, Younger Member Forum, February 19, 2003, New York, NY.
“Anticipating the Challenges of Structural Renovation in Theaters” with Daniel Marquardt and Joseph Burns, presented at the League of Historic American Theaters annual conference, July 20, 2001, New York, NY.
“Multiple Structural Causes in Glazed Brick Facade Failure” presented at Preserving the Recent Past II, Association for Preservation Technology and National Park Service, October 12, 2000, Philadelphia, PA.
“A Tale of Two Cities (and Their Facades)” with Mary Brush, presented at The Modern City Facing the Future, DoCoMoMo, September 19, 2000, Brasilia.
“Buildings Under the Microscope” presented at The National Building Museum, July 19, 2000, Washington, DC.