Sam Thorburn

Sam Thorburn
CBE FIStructE
Born1930
Glasgow
NationalityScottish
EducationRoyal Technical College, Glasgow now the University of Strathclyde,
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
DisciplineStructural engineer, civil engineer
ProjectsIbrox Stadium

Samuel Thorburn is a British civil engineer. He was president of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) in 1997-1998 and the 2003 recipient of their Gold Medal. He served as Chairman of the Scottish Building Standards Advisory Committee.[1]

Early life and education

Thorburn was educated in Hamilton Academy, which he left at 16 to work under a training agreement with a civil engineering contractor,[2] and studied during the evening at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow — now the University of Strathclyde.[2]

Career

In 1966 Thorburn founded the consultancy known latterly as Thorburn Colquhoun.[2] The company was taken over by American Consultant URS in 1999.[3] One of his significant projects was the design of Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow [4] Thorburn was Chairman of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Association of the Institution of Civil Engineers for the session 1975-76 [5] He was appointed to the Football Licensing Authority formed in 1990 after Lord Justice Taylor's Report on the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989.[6] He served on the Football Licensing Authority between 1993 and 2001.[7] He was chairman of the Working Party responsible for the fourth edition of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (The Green Guide 1997).[8] He was appointed first chairman of the new Scottish Registration Board for Approved Certifiers of Design (Building Structures) formed in 2004 [5]

Awards and honours

Thorburn was the first recipient of the Rear Admiral John Garth Watson Medal awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1993. He was awarded a CBE for services to Construction and Engineering in 2003.[9] He was awarded an Hon DSc by the University of Strathclyde in 1993.[10] He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Institution of Structural Engineers in 2003

References

  1. ^ "Building Standards Advisory Committee".
  2. ^ a b c The Structural Engineer (16 September 1997), Profile: The President 1997-98, vol. 75, Institution of Structural Engineers
  3. ^ "URS Takeover of Thorburn Colquhoun". 4 February 1999.
  4. ^ "The design and construction of the new Ibrox Stadium" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b "125 Years of ICE Glasgow & West of Scotland" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Stadia". 7 March 1990.
  7. ^ "Football Licensing Authority".
  8. ^ Thompson, P.; Tolloczko, J.; Clarke, N. (November 2002). Green Guide. ISBN 9781482272147.
  9. ^ "CBE".
  10. ^ "Hon DSc (University of Strathclyde)" (PDF).