Joel Herbert Rosenblatt, a World War II veteran whose lengthy civil and structural engineering career based in Baltimore, MD, and in Florida included extensive time on international projects, has died at 92 at his home in Muncie, IN.
Rosenblatt, P.E., F.ASCE, “contributed to the development of pre-stressed concrete used in bridges and housing as well as to the applied technology of hurricane resistance in the Florida Keys,” wrote a friend, George Wolfe, professor emeritus at Ball State University, in a tribute that appeared in the July 8 USA Today.
Rosenblatt believed in “the many advantages of building high-rise communities, what he referred to as the ‘Urban Mountain,’ designed for greater energy efficiency, sustainability, and to serve as a counter to urban sprawl,” Wolfe said. Rosenblatt distilled his ideas into a book, “Space on Earth,” published in 1996.
Rosenblatt was a Life Member of ASCE, joining in 1954. He was also a lifetime member of the American Legion and an Honorary Conch from Key West. For his service in World War II, notably in the Battle of the Bulge, he was eligible for burial with honors at one of Abraham Lincoln’s veteran cemeteries.
