Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston, Jr.,
Outstanding New Mechanics Educator Award

Sponsored by
McGraw-Hill

Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston, Jr.:

Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston, Jr. have published textbooks in the areas of statics, dynamics and mechanics of materials.  The following is from the mechanics of materials textbook with permission from McGraw-Hill:

About the Authors

"How did you happen to write your books together, with one of you at Lehigh and the other at UConn, and how do you manage to keep collaborating on their successive revisions?" These are the two questions most often asked of our two authors.

The answer to the first question is simple. Russ Johnston’s first teaching appointment was in the department of civil engineering and mechanics at Lehigh University. There he met Ferd Beer, who had joined that department two years earlier and was in charge of the courses in statics and dynamics. Born in France and educated in France and Switzerland (he holds an M.S. degree from the Sorbonne and a Sc.D. degree in the field of theoretical mechanics from the University of Geneva), Ferd had come to the United States after serving in the French army during the early part of World War II and had taught for four years at Williams college in the Williams-MIT joint arts and engineering program. Born in Philadelphia, Russ had obtained a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Delaware and a Sc.D degree in the field of structural engineering from MIT.

Ferd was delighted to discover that the young man who had been hired chiefly to teach graduate structural engineering courses was not only willing but eager to help him reorganize the courses in statics and dynamics. Both believed that these courses should be taught from a few basic principles and that the various concepts involved would be best understood and remembered by the students if they were presented in a graphic way. Together they wrote lecture notes, to which they later added problems they felt would appeal to future engineers, and soon they had produced the manuscript of the first edition of Mechanics for Engineers.

The second edition of their text found Russ Johnston at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the third at the University of Connecticut. In the meantime, both Ferd and Russ had assumed administrative responsibilities in their departments, and both were involved in research, consulting, and the supervision of graduate students, Ferd in the area of stochastic processes and random vibrations, and Russ in the area of elastic stability and structural analysis and design. However, their interest in improving the teaching of the basic mechanics courses had not subsided and they both taught sections of these courses as they kept revising their texts.

This brings us to the second question: How did the authors manage to work together so effectively after Russ Johnston had left Lehigh? Part of the answer may be provided by their phone bills and the money they spend on postage. As the publication date of a new edition approaches, they call each other daily and rush to the post office with express-mail packages in order to double-check their work. There are also frequent visits between the two families. At one time there were even joint camping trips, with both families pitching their tents next to each other. The Beers were the first to graduate to a trailer, which was used to illustrate a problem in one of the early editions of their text, but was replaced by the Johnstons’ trailer in the next one. Now this trailer has also been replaced, both authors preferring the comforts of a motel and its dining room to those of a camping ground and its fireplaces.

Ferd and Russ's contributions to engineering education have earned them a number of honors and awards.  They were presented with the Western Electric Fund Award for excellence in the instruction of engineering students by their respective regional sections of the American Society for Engineering Education, and they both received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Mechanics Division of the same society.  In 1991 Russ received the Outstanding Civil Engineer Award from the Connecticut Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and in 1995 Ferd was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree by Lehigh University.

Permission letter from McGraw-Hill to use above material from their book.

About the Award:

Established in 1992, this award is given annually to up to three individuals who have shown a strong commitment to mechanics education.

The winners are selected on the basis of their exceptional contributions to mechanics education. Individuals who have no more than five years of academic experience past their first regular academic appointment are eligible. The award consists of a $200 cash prize, a plaque to be awarded at the Mechanics Division Banquet, registration for the ASEE Annual Conference along with registration to the Mechanics Division Banquet and Business Meeting Luncheon. Attendance at the ASEE Annual Conference is required.

Past Recipients include the following:

Note: Prior to 2001, the award was named the Outstanding New Mechanics Educator Award.

Prof. Joseph J. Rencis
204 Mechanical Engineering Building
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
1-479-575-3153 (V-mail/Office)
1-479-575-6982 (FAX)
jjrencis@uark.edu (E-mail)

Copyright 2002, ASEE Mechanics Division
For problems or questions regarding this web contact Prof. Joseph J. Rencis.
Last updated: April 10, 2008.