Granata, Librescu among those killed at Virginia Tech

Two of our esteemed colleagues, Kevin Granata and Liviu Librescu, were among the 32 people killed during the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16.

Granata, an ASME member, was a professor of engineering science and mechanics at the university and was considered one of the top five biomechanics researchers in the United States working on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy, according to the head of Virginia Tech’s engineering science and mechanics department. He was 45.

Kevin Granata

Granata, who received his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics and electrical engineering from Ohio State, a master’s in physics from Purdue, and a doctorate in biomechanics from Ohio State, went on to a respected career in teaching and research, first at the University of Virginia and then at Virginia Tech. He lectured nationally and internationally, and had numerous publications and research grants.

Granata lived in Blacksburg, Va., with his wife, Linda Ankenman, and three children.

Witnesses at Virginia Tech said that Granata acted heroically when he, after hearing gunshots, ensured the safety of 20 students by locking them in his office on the third floor of Norris Hall office before he left the floor to investigate. He was shot by the killer shortly thereafter.

Organizers of the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, for which Granata had co-authored a paper, are planning to hold a special symposium on musculoskeletal biomechanics and bioassistive devices in his honor at the meeting this September in Las Vegas.

Liviu Librescu

Librescu, another contributor to ASME’s conferences, was a professor of engineering sciences and mechanics at Virginia Tech. Librescu, a Romanian-born Israeli and a Holocaust survivor, was killed in Norris Hall as he blocked the door to his second-floor lecture room with his body in order to protect his students. He is survived by his wife, Marilena, and their two sons. He was 76.

Librescu taught at Virginia Tech for 20 years and was highly regarded throughout the world for his work in aeronautical engineering. Librescu graduated from Polytechnic University of Bucharest in 1953 with a degree in mechanics and aerospace engineering and later received a master’s degree at Polytechnic University. He received a Ph.D. in fluid mechanics at the Academia de Stiinte in Romania in 1969.

Librescu served as a reviewer for ASME TurboExpo 2007, to be held later this month in Montreal. In addition, he was scheduled to be a presenter at the ASME Applied Mechanics and Materials Conference in June, and he had authored or co-authored seven technical papers for this year’s ASME International Congress in November. Turbo Expo organizers from the International Gas Turbine Institute are planning to observe a moment of silence at the opening of the Turbo Expo in Montreal on May 14. ASME President Terry Shoup and Executive Director Virgil Carter are scheduled to attend.

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