Helmut Krawinkler

Helmut Krawinkler (April 6, 1940 – April 16, 2012) was an Austrian-born American structural engineer.

Krawinkler was a native of Innsbruck, Austria, born on April 6, 1940.[1] He earned an undergraduate degree from the Vienna University of Technology in 1964.[2] Krawinkler then completed a master's degree at California State University San Jose, funded by a Fulbright Scholarship between 1965 and 1967.[3] In 1971, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a doctorate and became an assistant research engineer at Berkeley. After a year as lecturer at California State University, Krawinkler joined the Stanford University faculty in 1973.[3][4]

He directed the Blume Earthquake Engineering Center from 1985 to 1995.[5] He was appointed John A. Blume Professor within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1991.[6] Krawinkler was granted emeritus status in 2007.[7] He was elected to the United States National Academy of Engineering in 2012 "for development of performance-based earthquake engineering procedures for evaluating and rehabilitating buildings."[8]

That same year, Krawinkler was diagnosed with a brain tumor that necessitated surgery performed in February 2012.[4] He died in Palo Alto, California, on April 16, 2012, while seeking further treatment.[1][4]