Ferdinand P.

Beer

Ferdinand Pierre Beer (August 8, 1915 – April 30, 2003) was a French mechanical engineer and
university professor. He spent most of his career as a member of the faculty at Lehigh
University, where he served as the chairman of the mechanics and mechanical engineering
departments. His most significant contribution was the co-authorship of several textbooks in the
field of mechanics, which have been widely cited and utilized in engineering education.[1][2]
 Ferdinand P. Beer

Born August 8, 1915

Binic, France

Died April 30, 2003 (aged 87)

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Nationality French

Education M.S. University of Paris

Sc.D University of Geneva

Occupation Engineer

Spouse(s) Vivienne C.M. Beer

Children Marguerite V. Schaeffer,

Dr. Michelle C.M. Beer

Engineering career

Discipline Mechanics

Institutions Lehigh University,

Williams College

Biography

Early life
…
Beer was born in Binic, France in 1915.[1][3] He received a Masters of Science degree from the
Sorbonne and conducted post-graduate work at Brown University. From the University of Geneva
in Switzerland, he earned a mathematics license in 1935 and a Doctor of Science degree in
1937.[1] Beer served in the French Army during the Second World War before moving to the
United States and took a job at Williams College. He remained there for four years, where he
taught as part of the school's collaborative arts/engineering program with the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.[4]
Career at Lehigh University
…
IN 1947, he arrived at Lehigh University, where he taught for 37 years.[4] When a department of
mechanics was formed in 1957, Beer was named its first chairman. In 1968, Beer became the
chairman of the Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics Department after the two separate
fields were merged into one department. He served in that capacity until 1977. In 1970, Beer was
named the chairman of the newly formed University Forum, which was composed of 125
students and faculty members with the goal of promoting discussion between the two bodies.
Lehigh professor Fazil Erdogan said that, while "at other universities around the country,
students were rioting and conducting sit-ins ... [Beer] gained the confidence of the students. He
had a calming effect on students and, in this critical time, he offered a not inconsiderable service
to Lehigh."[1]

Alongside University of Connecticut professor E. Russell Johnston, Jr., Beer co-wrote three
bestselling engineering textbooks: Vector Mechanics for Engineers, Mechanics of Materials, and
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics and Dynamics, which won the 1976 Printing Industries of
America Graphic Arts Award. He also authored numerous articles published in technical
journals.[1]

Awards and research

…
In 1974, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Middle Atlantic chapter
awarded him the Western Electric Fund Award for engineering education. The Mechanics
Division of the Science Society, in 1980, awarded him its Distinguished Educator Award. Beer's
research studied the application of random loads to mechanical systems. His work in this field
included support by Boeing, NASA, the Chemical Corps of the U.S. Army, the Army Corps of
Engineers, and the Federal Civil Defense Administration.[1]

Beer was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American
Association of University Professors (AAUP). He was also a member of the ASEE and served as
its mechanics division chairman and Middle Atlantic chapter chairman.[1]

Beer was married to Vivienne C.M. Beer who died before him. Together they had two daughters,
Marguerite V. Schaeffer and Dr. Michelle C.M. Beer.[1] He died in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on
April 30, 2003 at the age of 87.[1] It was partly in his honor that the ASEE named the Ferdinand P.
Beer and E. Russell Johnston Jr. Outstanding New Educator Awards.[5]

Published works

F.P. Beer, E.R. Johnston Jr., J.T. DeWolf, Mechanics of Materials, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981,
ISBN 0-07-121060-1.

F.P. Beer, E.R. Johnston Jr., et al., Vector Mechanics for Engineers, New York: McGraw-Hill,
ISBN 0-07-293110-8.

F.P. Beer, E.R. Johnston Jr., et al., Mechanics for Engineers: Statics and Dynamics, New York:
McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-004584-4.

References

1. Pfitzer, Kurt (2003-05-02). "In memoriam: Ferdinand P. Beer, professor" (https://www2.lehigh.edu/news/in

-memoriam-ferdinand-p-beer-professor) . Lehigh University. Retrieved 2019-05-18.

2. "Ferdinand P. Beer" (https://engineering.lehigh.edu/alumni/ferdinand-p-beer) . Lehigh University.

Retrieved 2019-05-18.

3. Ferdinand Beer, E. Russel Johnston, Jr., and John T. DeWolf, Mechanics of Materials, 1981, p. iv, New
York: McGraw Hill.

4. Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics - About the author (http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0073212

199.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20091212101902/http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/htm
l/0073212199.html) 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine, McGraw Hill.

5. Professor Fisher receives ASEE’s Beer and Johnston Award (http://www.stevens.edu/press/cgi-bin/word

press/?p=730) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120222051926/http://www.stevens.edu/pres
s/cgi-bin/wordpress/?p=730) 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, Stevens News Service, Stevens
Institute of Technology, July 8, 2009.
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