William L. Shannon - Honorary Member 1996. October 24, 1913 - September 26, 2006

Seattle native William L. Shannon earned the BS from the University of Washington School of Engineering in 1936, and the MS from Harvard University in 1937. At Harvard he studied with Professor Arthur Casagrande, a leading figure in the then-evolving discipline of geotechnical engineering, and worked as a research assistant in soil mechanics until 1938.

He served as a civil engineer with the US Army Corps of Engineers 1940-46, then returned to Harvard as a research associate in 1947 before returning to the Corps.

In 1950 he joined his father's firm, William D. Shannon & Associates, Consulting Engineers in Seattle, where he worked until 1954. That year he joined with Stanley D. Wilson, whom he had met at Harvard, to open Shannon & Wilson in Seattle. The firm's work made important advancements in instrumentation, soil and rock mechan­ics, landslide stabilization, and earthquake engineering. Shannon became a recognized expert in earthquakes and landslides, heavy foundations, and deep excavations. Shannon & Wilson later grew to a firm with more than 300 employees in 10 offices nationwide.< RETURN HOME