10 Facts About Tung-Yen Lin

Tung-Yen Lin was a Chinese-American structural engineer who was the pioneer of standardizing the use of prestressed concrete.

Tung-Yen Lin did not begin formal schooling until age 11, and only so because his parents forged his birth year to be 1911 so that he would qualify.

Tung-Yen Lin graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1931 and left for the United States, where he earned his master's degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1933.

Tung-Yen Lin returned to China after graduation to work with the Chinese Ministry of Railways.

Tung-Yen Lin returned to UC Berkeley to join its faculty in 1946, and began to research and develop the practice of prestressed concrete.

Tung-Yen Lin did not invent prestressed concrete, but he did develop it for practical use.

When Tung-Yen Lin received the National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan in 1986, he handed over a 16-page plan for a 50-mile bridge linking Alaska and Siberia across the Bering Strait, a project he dubbed the Intercontinental Peace Bridge.

Tung-Yen Lin proposed a bridge across the Strait of Gibraltar that would have 16,000-foot spans and 3,000-foot tall towers.

Tung-Yen Lin fought against the pressures of economy by incorporating more aesthetics into his bridges and developing new techniques that increased economy.

Prestressing the concrete allowed Tung-Yen Lin to accomplish the goal of incorporating unique shapes without sacrificing the bottom line.