Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Paul H. Gilbert MSCE, P.E., N.A.E.
Inducted to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni on
Paul H. Gilbert received his B.S. (1959) and M.S. (1960) degrees in Civil (Structural Mechanics) Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a retired Senior Vice President and Chairman Emeritus of Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. He wa also a retired Partner of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas. A member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Washington State Academy of Sciences, his expertise was in project and program management for the design and construction of large complex facilities.
Mr. Gilbert was the project director of the PB-led team for design, construction management, and construction of the $1.45 billion conventional facilities of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) superconducting super collider. He also served as principal-in-charge for major engineering projects such as the Stanford Linear Accelerator Positron-Electron Project, DOE’s Basalt Waste Isolation Project at Hanford, the Nuclear Power Plants in Mined Caverns Study for the State of California, the Downtown Seattle Transit Project, the West Seattle High Bridge and Low Swing Bridge Project, the Hood Canal Floating Bridge Project, the Long Beach Naval Fuel Pier, and the Boston and San Francisco Effluent Outfall Tunnels. He was the author of Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Project Management Manual and also published a number of technical papers and articles.
As a Trustee of Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), Gilbert was Chairman of the North American ALMA Oversight Committee for the ALMA Radio Astronomy Telescope Project in Chile. He also served on the AUI External Review Committees for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), and the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST). He was Chair of the Project Management Oversight Panel for the University of California President’s Council overseeing the conventional construction programs at the Los Alamos, Livermore, and Berkeley National Laboratories. Mr. Gilbert was a member of a variety of professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Moles, the Project Management Institute, and the Society of American Military Engineers. He received numerous awards in civil engineering and construction management, including Engineers Fellow, the Rickey Medal, and the Construction Management Award.
Mr. Gilbert was recognized with a U.C. Berkeley College of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. He also served as a member of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Advisory Council.