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This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy...
This is the 28th volume of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and international members. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and international members, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.
Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and international members, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.
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BY RENATO LANCELLOTTA AND ANDREW WHITTLE
MICHELE BRUNO JAMIOLKOWSKI, professor emeritus at the Politecnico di Torino in Italy and one of the most prominent academic engineers in the field of geotechnical engineering, passed away on June 15, 2023, in Torino. He was 91.
Michele (born Michal Molda, his original family name) was born on July 21, 1932, in Stryj, Poland, now part of Ukraine. He survived internment in the Auschwitz concentration camp before being reunited with his mother in Kraków. After earning a master’s degree in soil mechanics and engineering geology at Warsaw Technical University in 1959, he migrated to Italy. He then pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Kyiv in Ukraine, Université Laval in Québec, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1964, he founded the geotechnical consulting company SGI in Milano and was later appointed a professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino in 1969. He remained affiliated with both organizations throughout his career and was named professor emeritus upon his retirement in 2007.
Michele was best known worldwide for his role as chairman of the International Committee for the Safeguarding of the Leaning Tower of Pisa from 1990 to 2001. Facing the threat of imminent catastrophic collapse due to leaning instability, the committee proposed and managed a stabilization scheme using controlled underexcavation. By carefully removing soil from beneath the tower, they reduced its tilt by approximately 10 percent, preserving the integrity of the monument for future generations. In recognition of his service, he received the Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana from the president of Italy in 2001 and the L. Fibonacci Award from the Chamber of Commerce in Pisa in 2003.
Within the geotechnical engineering community, he was highly regarded for his research contributions on the mechanical properties of soils and the use of in situ tests for site characterization and foundation engineering. In the 1980s, he coordinated an unprecedented collaborative research effort among Italian geotechnical research institutes—ENEL-CRIS (Centro di Ricerca Idraulica e Strutturale) and ISMES (Istituto Sperimentale Modelli e Strutture)—using large physical model tests, known as calibration chambers, to develop reliable methods for evaluating the engineering properties of sands from cone penetrometer tests, methods still used in practice today.
Michele had an overwhelming enthusiasm for his field of expertise and comprehensive knowledge of geotechnical engineering research and practice worldwide. His 1985 review “New developments in field and laboratory testing of soils,” remains a landmark contribution. He later served as president of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) from 1994 to 1997.
Engaged in challenging engineering projects, Michele always sought to advance state-of-the-art practices, using novel approaches to site characterization and emphasizing the importance of high-quality experimental data in improving engineering design and performance. His 1986 ICE James Forrest lecture, “Research applied to geotechnical engineering,” reflects this approach.1
Michele played a key role in many major engineering projects. He pioneered the use of PV drains to accelerate the consolidation of clay foundations for the Porte Tolle power station (Holtz et al. 19912). In Venice, he back-analyzed an instrumented test embankment to control settlements for the MOSE flood barriers. He introduced deep soil mixing to restore and strengthen the bell tower foundations in Piazza San Marco (Macchi et al. 20133). His research for a Strait of Messina bridge identified limitations in laboratory methods for measuring the mechanical properties of cemented gravel foundation soils and highlighted the importance of geophysical characterization methods.
In 2013, he was invited to present the 53rd Rankine Lecture in London, where he described his work as chair of an international board of experts for KGHM, which oversaw the mitigation of large ground movements at the Zelazny Most ring dam in Poland — the largest structure of its kind in Europe, storing 109 cubic meters of copper tailings. He also served on the International Advisory Board for the International Atomic Energy Agency, overseeing the construction of the New Safe Confinement structure for the damaged nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, completed in 2019.
Michele Jamiolkowski was widely sought after as a lecturer at universities and conferences around the world. His prestigious lecture invitations include the James Forrest Lecture (ICE, London, 1986), the Cross-Canada Lecture Tour (Canadian Geotechnical Society, 1991), the Croce Lecture (Italian Geotechnical Society, 2001), the Terzaghi Award (ASCE, 2001), the Terzaghi Oration (XV ISSMGE conference, Istanbul, 2001), the Ralph B. Peck Lecture (ASCE, Atlanta, 2006), the Za-Chieh Moh Lecture (Taipei, 2010), the Victor de Mello Lecture (Lisbon, 2012), the Rankine Lecture (ICE, London, 2013), and the J.K. Mitchell Lecture (ISSMGE, Las Vegas, 2015).
He was also honored by numerous academic and professional institutions. He was elected a foreign member (now called an international member) of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2005. He was a member of the Academy of Science of Turin (Italy) and of the Polish Academy of Sciences and received honorary doctorates in civil engineering from the Technical University of Bucharest and the University of Ghent, Belgium. He was an honorary professor at Academia Sinica of Guangzhou, China, and an Honorable International Member of the Japanese Geotechnical Society.
Michele received numerous awards throughout his long career, including the Terzaghi Award (ASCE, 2001), the Ralph B. Peck Award (ASCE, 2006), the De Beer Prize (Belgian Geotechnical Society, 1994-98), Savior of the Art (Italy, 2005) and the Best Paper Award (Japanese Geotechnical Society, 2004) for “The Stabilization of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”4 Weeks before his passing, he was honored with the ISSMGE inaugural Lifetime Achievement Medal, recognizing his lifelong contributions to the geotechnical field.
Michele was known for his warmth and generosity. He thrived on personal and professional interactions, always keeping his office door open for students and colleagues. He is fondly remembered as an inspiring mentor who encouraged new research ideas and fostered the careers of many young engineers.
He married Jadwiga (Jadzia) Antonina Karbowniczek in Warsaw in 1954. She passed away five months after Michele, on Nov. 10, 2023. They are survived by two daughters, Caterina and Maddalena, and five grandchildren: Michele, Gabriele, Alessia, Davide, and Francesco.
_____________________________________ 1Jamiolkowski MB. 1988. Research applied to geotechnical engineering. James Forrest lecture. Proceedings of the Institution of Chemical Engineers 84(3):571-604. 2Holtz RD, Jamiolkowski MB, Lancellotta R, Pedroni R. 1991. Prefabricated Vertical Drains: Design and Performance. Construction Industry Research and Information Association. 3Macchi G, Macchi S, Jamiolkowski MB, Pastore V, Vanni D. 2013. Strengthening of the San Marco Bell Tower Foundation in Venice. In: Geotechnics and Heritage: Case Histories, 229-42. Bilotta E, Flora A, Lirer S, Viggiani C, eds. Taylor & Francis. 4Burland JB, Jamiolkowski MB, Viggiani C. 2003. The stabilisation of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Soil and Foundations 43(5):63-80.