Professor Emeritus Arthur R. Robinson died on October 15, 2015, in Champaign. He was 85.
Robinson was born in Brooklyn, NY, on Oct. 28, 1929. He had one brother, Seymour, who preceded him in death, and several nieces and nephews.
Robinson received his B.S. degree from the Cooper Union in New York City in 1951, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1953 and 1956. From 1957-60 he held positions at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He joined the Illinois civil engineering department in 1960, achieving the rank of professor in 1963. He retired in 1993.
With a strong background in applied mechanics and mathematics, Robinson specialized in the fields of dynamic elasticity, numerical methods analysis, non-linear structural problems, EQ ground motions and numerical solutions of ordinary differential equations.
He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics and the Seismological Society of America. His awards included the University of Illinois Epstein Teaching Award, The ASCE Huber Research Prize and the prestigious ASCE Moisseiff Award with his student Harry H. West (PhD 67).
Robinson was author or co-author of about 30 books, monographs and formal publications, as well as an equal number of widely disseminated technical reports in the areas cited.
Robinson joined the Sinai temple in 1961 and was heavily involved with their activities, and that of affiliated organizations, during his entire career at the University of Illinois, and thereafter in retirement.
Robinson excelled in the education of advanced undergraduate and graduate students in civil engineering, both formally and informally. He always made time to aid students with understanding behavior, the associated theory and affiliated analysis approaches.
Robinson’s former student Robert Smilowitz (MS 73, PhD 77) wrote, “As a native New Yorker alone in the Midwest, Art Robinson made me feel very much at home. Just the sound of his accent and wry sense of humor were a comfort to a homesick student. Over the years I came to appreciate his technical prowess, and I was honored to have him on my thesis committee. Art Robinson, along with Henry Langhaar, helped reduce my anxiety over engineering mechanics and energy methods; he introduced me to a new way of thinking. I am very sorry for his loss and even though I hadn’t seen him in years, I’ll miss knowing he’s there.”
--W.J. Hall
Read a reflection on Art Robinson by alumnus Harry West (PhD 67)