ASCE has honored Christopher W. Letchford, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, with the 2025 Jack E. Cermak Medal for advancements in bluff-body aerodynamics and laboratory testing of nonsynoptic winds for mitigating wind-induced response of structures.
Letchford’s contribution to the field of wind engineering is quite diverse. While at Texas Tech he pursued research in boundary layer wind tunnel in the field using the WERFL facility. During the damage investigation of the Fort Worth, Texas Tornado, he developed a table-scale laboratory model of Downburst winds and carried out the design of a laboratory facility for tornado vortex. This facility is in use today as a VorTECH facility. It can generate up to a 6-foot-diameter vortex and is used for accessing tornado loads on buildings. After leaving Texas Tech, he continued doing research in wind engineering, though he has also been in administrative positions.
He has published 70 papers in archival journals with a cumulative h-index of 35 citations in 3,932 papers. His own papers are in a variety of journals, such as Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, Wind and Structures, Natural Hazards Review, Journal of Structural Engineering, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, and others. He has six book chapters and more than 140 conference papers to his credit. Letchford is in high demand as a keynote speaker and invited lecturer. He is esteemed and respected internationally in Australia, Europe, and North America.
This medal was established by the Engineering Mechanics Division/SEI to recognize Dr. Jack E. Cermak’s lifetime achievements in the field of wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics.
