William Mahan - Life Member 1997, Engineer of the Year 1984, SEAW Seattle President 1974. d. July 7, 1999, age 67

A native of Yakima, William E. Mahan moved with his family to Hoquiam where he graduated from high school in 1948. He attended Grays Harbor Junior College before joining the US Army Air Force in 1950. Following his discharge, he earned the BSCE from the University of Washington in 1957. He held civil and structural engineer licenses in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Alaska. He first worked with Marshall & Barr, then with several consulting structural engineering firms in the Seattle area.

Bill began his own practice in 1972, as a principal in the consulting engineering firm of Mahan & Smith, Inc., with offices in Seattle. The firm produced innovative renovations of numerous existing buildings, notably the Colman Building and structures in the Pike Place Market, Lakeside High School and the remodel of Franklin High School. Other projects include a 400-person housing faciity at McChord AFB, Seattle's First & Pine Building, several co-generation power plants throughout the Western US, a mid-rise medical building in Hawaii, and an addition to the Bellingham Library. In 1993 he joined Robert Fossatti Associates. He designed many of the cranes seen on the waterfront at the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle as well as around the US.

With SEAW since 1966, Bill Mahan engaged with the Building Code Advisory Council of the State of Washington, representing SEAW on that Council and at IBCO, the national code-writing body. He assisted in the formulation of amendments to the State Engineering Registration Act, and chaired the Structural Examination Refresher Course.

Also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, he chaired ASEC's Committee on Structures. Through his firm's membership on the Consulting Engineers Council of Washington, he served on CECW's Scholarship Committee.

Posted April 2012

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