The Medal, named for CCNY’s founder, is given for “exemplary contributions to his chosen field of endeavor.” Levy engineered the Marriott Marquis Hotel, where the awards dinner was held, as well as many City College buildings and New York City landmarks.

NEW YORK - Matthys Levy received the 2007 Townsend Harris Medal from the Alumni Association of the City College of New York (CCNY). The Medal was presented to Levy, a CCNY graduate, at the 127th Annual Alumni Dinner on Thursday, October 18, 2007, at the New York Marriot Marquis. Levy was selected from among nearly 100 nominees by the Townsend Harris Medal Committee, consisting of former medalists, in recognition of his “exemplary contributions to his chosen field of endeavor.” Levy is a founding principal and Chairman Emeritus of Weidlinger. Dr. Melvin Baron (deceased), also a founding partner of Weidlinger, received the Medal in 1988.

Levy was the structural designer for many dramatic buildings, including Atlanta’s Georgia Dome Stadium and New York’s Rose Center for Earth and Space. The Whitney Museum, the Javits Center, and the Rockefeller Center pedestrian bridge are some of the many New York City landmarks he also engineered. As structural engineer of the Marriott Marquis, he was responsible in part for the soaring atrium, slip-formed concrete elevator core, and economic 112-foot-span Vierendeel superframe. Levy also engineered major buildings for CCNY’s Hostos, Baruch, and Manhattan campuses.

Levy is often interviewed and quoted as an expert on structural practice. He was Principal Investigator for the most comprehensive study of the World Trade Center collapses to date, which received the nation’s most prestigious engineering excellence award (from ACEC) in 2004. He has published numerous papers in the fields of structures, computer analysis, aesthetics, and building systems design; has illustrated two books; and is the co-author of five books: Why the Earth Quakes (1997), Earthquake Games (2000), Engineering the City (2000), Why Buildings Fall Down (2002, second edition), and Why Buildings Stand Up (2002, second edition). He is the also the author of Why the Wind Blows (2007), a timely and entertaining account of the science of weather and climate change.

Levy accepted his award before more than 600 alumni, members of the College community, family, friends, and co-workers. He is candid about the opportunity that City College provided him: “I had neither the funds nor good enough test scores to attend a big-name American university. City College, tuition free at the time, gave me a chance to develop academically, which I did in four challenging years.”