John W. Fisher, PhD, PE, NAE Honored for a Distinguished Career in Engineering

    BETHLEHEM, PA, April 21, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- John W. Fisher, PhD, PE, NAE has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

An expert in civil engineering, John Fisher, PhD, PE, NAE dedicated more than 40 years to educating and mentoring students in and around the subject in various roles at Lehigh University leading up to his retirement from teaching in 2002—at which point he was honored with the title of Professor Emeritus. In addition to being an accomplished engineer in the field, Dr. Fisher has also been active as a consultant, a lecturer, a community-minded leader, a military hero, and an author over the course of his prolific career.

Upon graduating from high school, Dr. Fisher—the oldest of 11 children in a Missourian family that encouraged a strong work ethic—spent a year studying at Southeast Missouri State College in Cape Girardeau, Missouri before he enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He served from 1951 to 1953, leaving early as a 2nd Lieutenant in order to return to higher education. While his wife, Nelda, whom he married in 1952, launched her career in the FBI, he went to Washington University in St. Louis and earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1956. He subsequently obtained a Master of Science from Lehigh University in 1958, and took a position as an assistant bridge research engineer at the AASHO Road Test, which was carried out by the National Academy of Science and the Transportation Research Board. While in this role from 1958 to 1961, he became heavily involved in bridge research, which initiated his expertise in the behavior and performance of bridges. Dr. Fisher was then motivated to acquire his doctorate so he could further research and teach in this capacity.

In the midst of studying for his Doctor of Philosophy at Lehigh University, which he ultimately earned in 1964, he brandished his skills as an educator at the institution—between 1961 and 1969, he advanced from a research instructor to full professor of his chosen subject. From 1969 until 2002, he excelled in the role of a full professor of Civil Engineering and proved his passion and commitment to his work by wearing several hats at Lehigh: he served as an Associate Director of the Fritz Engineering Laboratory from 1971 to 1985; the co-chairman of civil engineering from 1984 to 1985; the founding director of Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) at the Engineering Research Center from 1986 to 1999; and was named a Joseph T. Stuart Professor from 1988 to 2002. On top of his several academic accomplishments, Dr. Fisher was awarded Docteur Honoris Causa from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in 1988.

Outside of his primary responsibilities in education, Dr. Fisher has lent his knowledge as a senior visiting scholar in China in 1985, a visiting professor in Switzerland in 1982, and Institution of Engineers eminent overseas speaker in Australia in 1983. He served on the New York City Panel on the Williamsburg Bridge assessment and was a member of the New York State Bridge Safety Assurance Task force in the 1980s. He was a member of the building Performance Study Team for the World Trade Center disaster cite for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2001 and 2002. He was also a member of the executive committee for the Transportation Research Board from 1997 to 2000 and continues to find success in the field as a lecturer and consultant to this day. In addition to more than 300 professional articles and contributions to journals, Dr. Fisher has authored several books, including "Guide to Design Criteria for Bolted Joints" in 1974, "Bridge Fatigue Guide" in 1977, "Fatigue and Fractures in Steel Bridges" in 1984, and "A Fatigue Primer for Structural Engineers" in 1998.

Throughout his career, Dr. Fisher has maintained professional affiliation with such organizations as the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He felt especially proud of being elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1986, becoming a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and being elected a corresponding member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1989.

As a testament to excellence throughout his career, Dr. Fisher has received numerous accolade. He was named Construction Man of the Year by Engineering News-Record in 1987 and Engineer of the Year by the Research Institute for Bridge Integrity and Safety in 1989. Between the 1990s and 2000s, he collected the Frank P. Brown Medal from the Franklin Institute, a John Fritz Medal from the Engineering Societies of the United Engineering Foundation, an International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering, a Lifetime Achievement Award in Education from the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a T.Y. Lin Medal from the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety. Upon reflection of his nearly seven decades of professional experience, Dr. Fisher considers his ability to find solutions for problems and failures in the field—such as structural issues in bridges, buildings, wind turbines, machinery and buses—to be most rewarding.

Looking toward the future, Dr. Fisher remains active within the world of major steel structures and hopes to continue his work as long as he is able—he still has ongoing contracts with the MTA, for instance, regarding bridges and tunnels in the New York area. In addition to his devotion to his family, he dedicated time to his church as Lay Leader for over 45 years. He volunteered time to Young Life of Lehigh Valley and was a board director for Southside Ministries a precursor of New Bethany Ministries. Cultivating a legacy as an education-driven individual and devoted family man, with four children, 10 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren, he would advise young and aspiring professionals, as well as his own family, to "do what you like to do." Dr. Fisher always told his students that if they didn't like the job they were in, "they better try something else!"

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