Obituary Free

We are really sorry to hear that Dr Robert Ratay (Bob) has passed away and would like to express our condolences to his family. Bob was very active in both the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and the Forensic Engineering Division (FED) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). One of his key contributions was as Chairman of the ASCE committee that developed very important standard, ASCE/SEI Design Loads on Structures during Construction, with 2002 and 2014 editions. He proposed developing the Standard in 1987 and led the effort through both editions. Bob was a valuable active member of Forensic Engineering Editorial Panel since the journal’s inception in 2012. He helped the journal in creating a concrete base of forensic engineering in the UK by recruiting expert members from his worldwide connections to sit on the editorial panel and generate papers. His book ‘Forensic Structural Engineering Handbook’ is a starting point of reference worldwide for students, academics and practitioners with an interest in forensic engineering. Bob’s continuous work with ASCE’s Forensic Engineering Division and Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities secured their support and encouragement in establishing the ICE’s Forensic Engineering journal. For this, the journal is always going to be indebted to Dr Robert Ratay and the editorial panel will miss his generous contribution.