In easily understandable prose and through the use of true stories of exploration, "Why the Wind Blows" looks at how these adventures were influenced by the weather and man's ignorance of its consequences. The science of meteorology is gently interspersed throughout the text, so that with the influence of modern civilization on the changing climate and its world-altering consequences, the author challenges the reader to take action now to alter the effects of global warming on future generations.
Matthys P. Levy is a founding Principal and Chairman Emeritus of Weidlinger Associates, Consulting Engineers. Born in Switzerland and a graduate of the City College of New York, Mr. Levy received his MS and CE degrees from Columbia University. He has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a Distinguished Professor at Pratt Institute and a lecturer at universities throughout the world.
Mr. Levy is the recipient of many awards including the ASCE Innovation in Civil Engineering Award, the Egleston medal from Columbia University, the Townsend Harris medal from City College, the IASS Tsuboi Award, the ENR Medal of Excellence, three Lincoln Arc Welding awards, three PCI awards, the Founder's Award of the Salvadori Center and an AIA Institute Award. He was named a Structural Engineering Legend in Design by Structural Engineering Magazine in 2003. He has published numerous papers in the field of structures, computer analysis, aesthetics and building systems design, has illustrated two books and is the co-author of the best selling book, Why Buildings Fall Dow as well as, Structural Design in Architecture, Why the Earth Quakes, Earthquakes, Volcanoes & Tsunamis, Earthquake Games and Engineering the City. His recent book, Why the Wind Blows, a history of weather and global warming,, was published in 2007.
Levy is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the International Association of Shell & Spatial Structures, the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers and other professional societies. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the US and Eur Ing in Europe; he is also a founding director of the Salvadori Center that serves youngsters by teaching mathematics and science through motivating hands-on learning about the built environment.
Projects for which he was the principal designer include the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History, the Javits Convention Center and the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the La Plata Stadium in Argentina, the One Financial Center tower in Boston, Banque Bruxelles Lambert in Belgium, the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, and a cable-stayed pedestrian bridge at Rockefeller University. He is the inventor of the patented Tenstar Dome structure, a unique tensegrity cable dome used to cover large spaces with minimal obstruction.
Mr Levy was represented in the exhibit, 'The Engineer's Art' at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. He has appeared on numerous television shows including NOVA, Modern Marvels, the History
Channel, ABC News, PBS series on Domes and others.
Mr. Levy has served as an expert in forensic investigations including the World Trade Center Collapses in New York, the Versailles Ballroom Collapse in Jerusalem, the failure of the UNI Dome in Iowa, the Fire Damage to the Meridian Building in Philadelphia, and others.
