Photo Courtesy of latallbuildings.org
Marshall Lew, a geotechnical engineer and earthquake engineer recognized as a leading practitioner and generous contributor to professional organizations for nearly 50 years, passed away peacefully in the presence of family on April 6, 2025, at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife Jenny, children, and grandchildren.
Marshall received B.S. (1972), M.S. (1972) and Ph.D. (1976) degrees from UCLA. His Ph.D. was performed under the tutelage of Professor Gary Hart. After one year of teaching at California State University Long Beach, Marshall joined LeRoy Crandall and Associates, a prominent geotechnical engineering company in southern California. The company experienced corporate mergers/acquisitions over the years with the result that Marshall worked at Law/Crandall, Mactec, Amec, Amec Foster Wheeler, Wood, and ultimately WSP, where he was Senior Vice President.
A registered Civil and Geotechnical Engineer in California and a registered Professional Engineer in 9 other states, Marshall worked on prominent projects in southern California, including the 73-story Library Square Tower (US Bank Building) (tallest building in the western US), Wilshire Grand Tower (the subsequent tallest building in the western US), Metro Blue, Green, and Gold Line Rail Projects for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Silver Lake Reservoir replacement project for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, San Diego Padres Petco Park Baseball Stadium, Keck Hospital of USC (first base isolated hospital in the world), and the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. Marshall worked on hundreds of ground motion evaluations in the western United States and guided the development of seismic guidelines documents throughout his career. He mentored generations of younger engineers at LeRoy Crandall and Associates and its successors, helping them to develop their technical, professional, and personal skills, many of whom have gone on to have highly impactful careers. His mentoring style emphasized grace, joy, and encouragement of creativity in problem solving, endearing him to colleagues.
Dr. Lew was a highly influential member of numerous professional societies, but had a special affinity for the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, for whom he served as a Board Member, Secretary-Treasurer, and founding president of the southern California chapter. As part of EERI teams, he participated in multiple post-event reconnaissance missions, including the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake and 2013 Lushan Earthquake, both in China. He also served as a member of the State of California’s Hospital Building Safety Board and the California Strong Motion Instrumentation Advisory Committee.
As noted by long-time professional colleague Farzad Naeim – “Marshall’s gentle way, his kindness and humility, his profound contributions to engineering, and his decades of steadfast support of EERI will always be with us and guide us. Our friend and colleague will be fondly remembered.”
Special thanks to Jonathan Stewart and Marty Hudson for their support in creating this memoriam.