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Obituary: James D. Cooper

• James D. Cooper

James D. Cooper, an internationally recognized structural engineer and leader in the field of bridge engineering, passed away on November 23, 2005 at the age of 63 following a year-long battle with cancer. Jim was the former Director of the Office of Bridge Technology, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In this capacity, he helped define and set the focus for the initial six-year $12 million seismic research program conducted by MCEER (formerly NCEER) on the vulnerability of federal-aid highways, bridges and tunnels to earthquakes for FHWA, and was a member of the project’s Highway Seismic Research Council (HSRC). Jim’s leadership and vision has been demonstrated in the wide array of valuable products that have been produced by MCEER for the highway engineering community. He will be missed.