Edward F. Diekmann Jr., a vastly talented structural engineer whose pioneering works expanded the profession’s understanding of the analysis of lateral loads, has died. He was 93.
An ASCE life member, his lifetime knowledge and professional expertise served him and the profession well, including many leadership roles at ASCE, chairing ASTM’s Wood Standards Committee, and working as a court-appointed master in the state of California and an engineering instructor of popular UC Berkeley extension classes.
Diekmann, P.E., M.ASCE, was the “D” in the founding partnership of GFDS Engineers in San Francisco, joining Bill Gilbert, Bob Forsberg, and Harry Schmidt. He developed a pioneering method of analyzing diaphragms with offsets, or notches, and openings in the early 1980s that was ahead of its time. Although his method of analysis was published in journals and as brief presentations in various publications, it didn’t gain wide acceptance until later. This proved to be true of other methods of analyzing lateral load distribution in complex structures he developed. Diekmann’s name could be found as a contributor to many papers and articles on the analysis of modern irregular shaped structures.
Born in Iowa, he earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering at the University of Iowa and a master’s in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War, where he rose to first lieutenant.
Diekmann designed and built a cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains where he enjoyed time with his large, extended family and many friends. He and his wife Marilyn traveled extensively.
