Obituary

Donald Charles Rose 1933-2008

Donald Charles Rose 1933-2008
Don Rose, tunnel and dam civil engineer and engineering geologist, passed away on July 26, 2008. As well as an activist in the tunnel and dam industry and civil engineering and engineering geology professions, Don was a teacher as a visiting associate professor at Cornell, as a lecturer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Association of Engineering Geologist, as a contributor to tunnel textbooks, and in his latest endeavor as promoter and founder of the tunnel engineering and cost estimating extension course as part of the UCLA professional construction management certificate program.

He made notable contributions to the dam industry including reporting on Auburn Dam, Queen's Dam, and his participation in the design and construction of dams in California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Yemen, and East Pakistan (Bangladesh).

In the tunneling industry his contribution included consultant on the Superconducting Super Collider; consulting on the Hai Van Pass Tunnel in Vietnam; tunnel geologist on the Trans-Koolau H-3 Pilot Tunnel and Honolulu Interceptor sewers on the University of Hawaii campus; editor for the Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority Atlanta Research Chamber Monographs; principal author for revision of the Terzaghi rock loads publication; an active subcommittee participant for the US National Committee on Tunneling Technology Geotechnical Investigations; project manager for the largest application of steel fiber reinforced shotcrete in the world at the time for the Stanford Linear Collider; and tunnel cost estimator for major tunnel projects.

He worked at many consulting firms and consulted on major dam and tunnel projects all over the world. He started working as a Caterpillar heavy equipment operator (CAT skinner), but later graduated with a degree in Geology from UCLA, and MS in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley. In his early years, he was a debater and a long distance runner - both at the championship level - and throughout his life he was an accomplished jazz trumpet player.

He lived his life with no regrets and doing what was always above board. He is survived by his ex-wife and best friend Elizabeth Rose, daughter Victoria, son Donald Jr., and three grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, September 6, 2008, at 2pm on the Liberty Ship in the Harbor in San Pedro, Southern California. Don's jazz musician friends will be playing.