Henry
Petroski, the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a
professor of history at Duke University, will speak at Asheville School on
Thursday, April 24, at 7:15 p.m. in Graham Theater. Petroski has written
broadly on topics of design, success, and failure. He will discuss the history
of engineering and technology during Asheville School’s Founders’ Day
Convocation.
His latest book, The House with
Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship, looks
critically at one man’s approach to design and construction and celebrates his
unique achievement. The new book features the photography of his wife,
Catherine, and will be published by W.W. Norton in early May.
Petroski’s visit is part of the
Asheville School Pope Series for the Humanities and is free and open to the
public, but with limited general admission seating available. After his
presentation, Petroski will lead a short question and answer session, followed
by a book signing in the Crawford Music House.
Associate Head of School Jay Bonner
says Petroski’s visit was planned to coincide with Asheville School’s “year of
science” theme in celebration of the school’s new state-of-the-art science
center.
“In conjunction with the opening of the
Vandergrift Science Center this academic year, we planned to bring in writers
with a scientific bent who also are established as writers—wielding the pen
with as much grace as a slide rule or microscope,” Bonner said. “I came to Dr.
Petroski’s work, ironically, after being a fan of his wife’s first collection
of stories, published back in the early 1980s. Over the years, however, I have
been reading Dr. Petroski’s work with avid interest. He makes bookshelf design
or the design of the pencil or paper clip a story of human ingenuity.”
In addition to his 17 books, which have
been translated into more than a dozen languages, Petroski has written many
general-interest articles and essays for magazines and newspapers, including
the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and
Wall Street Journal, and he writes regular columns for the magazines American
Scientist and ASEE Prism.
“Dr. Petroski’s interests remind us of
the importance of failure: how we learn from failure so as to eliminate larger
problems or more egregious disasters in the future—an important point for a
risk averse culture like a school,” Bonner says. “The point, though, is to make
sure the risk is limited as opposed to systemic!”
Henry Petroski is registered as a professional
engineer in Texas and as a chartered engineer in Ireland. He is a Distinguished
Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineers of Ireland. He
is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American
Philosophical Society, and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Click here, to read more about
Petroski’s new book, The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of
Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship. (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/henry-petroski/the-house-with-sixteen-handmade-doors/)
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