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Memorial Tributes Volume 15 (2011) / Chapter Skim
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John A. Focht, JR. 1923-2010
Pages 80-85

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From page 81...
... MarcUsoN iii J oHN arNold focHT, Jr., of Houston, Texas, the highly esteemed consulting geotechnical engineer and 1990 american society of civil engineers (asce) president died october 22, 2010.
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From page 82...
... When development of offshore structures began to rapidly expand in the 1950s, he led development of the first satisfactory design analysis for nonlinear soil-pile interaction under storm loading and the first useful correlation of soil test data with such soil behavior. His contributions acquired special significance when design load requirements of such structures rapidly outstripped the practical applicability of pile load tests.
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From page 83...
... He was responsible for the design of both lake livingston and lake conroe dams, and his innovations and judgment guided the foundation design of most of Houston's tallest buildings, including the JP Morgan chase Tower, the tallest soil-supported building in the world. John was also involved in the design and construction of many southeastern Texas and Louisiana refineries and chemical plants as well as Port of Houston facilities and much of the original development of the Johnson space center.
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From page 84...
... When John and edith moved to Houston Heights in 1953, they joined grace United Methodist church where they were both active. John served as chairman of the board of grace church and taught a high school sunday school class for over 15 years.
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Key Terms

  • deep soil
  • foundation design
  • soil formations
  • methodist church
  • geotechnical engineer

  • offshore structures
  • pile foundation
  • engineering degree
  • developing innovative
  • united methodist

  • designing piles
  • john served
  • piles subject
  • heavy mat
  • practical methods

  • mat foundations
  • experiment station
  • edith rials
  • judgment guided
  • heavily loaded

  • engineering faculty
  • observational approach
  • contributed widely
  • ohn arnold
  • membership created

  • engineering certification
  • asce karl
  • extreme loads
  • john contributed
  • army engineer


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