Richard Wendall “Dick” Karn, president of ASCE in 1985 who co-founded an engineering firm that would eventually become part of AECOM, has died. He was 97.
Karn P.E., Pres.85.ASCE, served as president of the Society from 1984 to 1985 and was a member of the Presidents Emeriti Council. His active ASCE membership began while belonging to the student chapter while at Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1950.
When Karn was appointed water resources engineer at Alameda County Flood and Water Conservation District in California in 1957, he was the district’s fourth employee. He had a leading role in establishing a zone that provided water to more than half of the county. As chief of the water resources and planning branch, Karn directed a program to bring imported water from the South Bay Aqueduct to the growing cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin. He also provided local cooperation for millions of dollars in federal and state flood control and water projects throughout the county. In 1962, he became the district’s engineer-manager.
In 1966, he and Don Bissell founded Bissell & Karn, a firm that provided engineering support for major private and public projects – roads, freeways, bridges, transportation systems, residential, commercial, and industrial developments, water, sewerage, and more. Under their leadership, the firm flourished, growing to employ 315 people by 1990 before being acquired by Greiner Engineering. As Karn continued to excel, he was appointed a Greiner senior vice president and member of the office of the chairman. In later years, Greiner Engineering would be acquired in 1996 by URS, which in turn was acquired by AECOM in 2014.
Karn followed his ASCE presidency by serving as chair of the American Association of Engineering Societies in 1987. His numerous honors include the H. J. Brunnier Award from ASCE’s San Francisco Section in 1977; honorary fellow, of the Institution of Civil Engineers, U.K. in 1985; eminent engineer by the Tau Beta Pi Honor Society in 1990; and distinguished engineering alumnus from the U.C. Berkeley Engineering Alumni Society in 1995.
Karn was a U.S. Navy veteran who served with the Pacific Fleet from 1945 to 1946.
Beyond work, Karn found joy in boating and spending time on the water. His ASCE presidency led to extensive travel around the world, accompanied by his wife Peggy, embracing new cultures and experiences together. Many who knew, worked with, and volunteered with Karn retain warn memories of a mentor and inspiration.
