Robert Anderson:  

Age 82, of Great Falls, VA, passed away peacefully on December 15, 2013. He was born in Chicago on September 13, 1931, to Harold Oscar Anderson and Mary Alice Sreenan Anderson. He graduated in 1949 from Charles Proteus Steinmetz High School, where he played varsity football, was senior class treasurer, was admitted to the National Honor Society, and received the American Legion Award for Outstanding Male Student. He held a bachelor’s degree (with honors) in general engineering and master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois. He prepared his PhD thesis on earthquake-resistant structures under the direction of Professors A. S. Veletsos and N. M. Newmark. As an undergraduate, he belonged to the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. In advanced ROTC, he reached the rank of Major and Battalion Commander and received the Distinguished Military Graduate Award. He was also awarded the following honorary society keys: Chi Epsilon (civil engineering), Tau Beta Pi (engineering), and Tau Nu Tau (Army engineering). After graduation from the U. of I. as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he served for two years in the Corps, receiving the Army Commendation Medal and promotion to 1st Lt. while stationed in Hoechst, Germany. He also received the Army of Occupation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and two Expert Marksmanship Medals. He served for another eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve, rising to the rank of captain. From 1956 to 1963, he held several engineering positions in Southern California — first at Hughes Aircraft Co. and later at Space Technology Laboratories (STL, later becoming TRW Systems). At STL, he headed the Structural Research and Methods group. In 1963, he cofounded Mechanics Research Inc. (MRI), a Los Angeles-based engineering consulting firm, becoming its president and chairman in 1968. As a leading technical support contractor to government and industry in engineering mechanics and energy system engineering, MRI won the U.S. Department of the Interior’s prime technical support contract to provide third-party environmental surveillance of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline’s design and construction. MRI also played key roles in product development for the Apollo space program; development of classified photographic satellite technology; an...Expand for more