van der Molen, Jan Ludzer (Dick) (1924 - 2015)

Summary

Dick van der Molen, PhD, MEngSc, FIEAust, MASCE, PEng, was a structural engineer who, in nearly 40 years in private practice, was involved in a wide variety of projects including power stations, wharfs, grain silos and the Westgate Bridge in Melbourne. He was a pioneer in Victoria in the application of computer technology to the design of concrete structures. Van der Molen designed and supervised the construction of the underground car park, University of Melbourne, a building recognised for the excellence of its design by the Concrete Institute of Australia. He was also involved in the restoration of heritage concrete structures, including researching methods to stabilise and conserve the Barwon Sewer Aqueduct. In retirement in Tasmania, he became immersed in engineering history, particularly the heritage recognition of the Ross Bridge.

Details

Associated Engineering Works:
* c1968. The two 550 ton erection trusses for the concrete approach spans of the Westgate Bridge;
* 1967. Iron ore slurry pipeline suspension bridge over the Savage River Gorge in Tasmania;
* 1967. The Cable-stayed McIntyre Bridge over the Barwon River, Victoria;
* 1969. The concrete Rosebud Soundshell, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria;
* 1971-1972. The underground car park, under the south lawn at the University of Melbourne.

Chronology

1940 - 1944

Education - Studied aeronuatical engineering, Eindhoven, Netherlands

1944 - 1946

Career position - Joined the Army engineers, England

1946

Life event - Moved from Netherlands to Indonesia

1946 - 1950

Career position - Engineer, Dutch Army Corps of Engineers, working on post-war reconstruction in Indonesia

1950

Life event - Migrated to Australia

1951 - 1952

Career position - Engineer, Snowy Mountains Scheme

1965

Career event - Graduate Member (GradIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1966

Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1968

Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Associate Members were designated Members on this date.]

1982

Education - Master of Engineering Science (MEngSc), University of Melbourne

1988 - 1999

Career position - Lecturer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Melbourne

2000

Life event - Retired

2006

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Newcastle

2007

Award - Engineering Heritage Australia Award of Merit

Related entries

Published resources

Conference Papers

• van der Molen, J. L.; Alsop, P. F. B., 'Early Reinforced Concrete Structures - a Heritage Issue', in Second Australasian Conference on Engineering Heritage, Auckland, 14-16 February, 2000: Proceedings (Auckland, New Zealand: Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, 2000), pp. 231-236., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.911134642703081. Details
• van der Molen, J. L.; Lazenby, M. E. C., 'Roads, Bridges - and Federation', in Eleventh National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Federation Engineering a Nation; Proceedings (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2001), pp. 141-148., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.520753687937339. Details

Journal Articles

• Cole, Bruce, 'Vale Jan (Dick) van der Molen, 1924 - 2015, PhD, MEngSc, FIEAust, MASCE, Peng', Engineering Heritage Australia magazine, 2 (2) (2016), 22-3, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/Learned%20Society/eha%20magazine%20vol%202%20no%202%20April%202016.pdf. Details
• Peake, Owen, 'Awarding Merit [Lindsay Whitham and Dick Van der Molen]', Newsletter of Engineering Heritage Australia, 19 (March 2007) (2007), 3. Details
• van der Molen, J. L., 'Barwon sewer aqueduct, Geelong', Newsletter of Engineering Heritage Australia, 17 (Nov.2005) (2005), 6. Details
• van der Molen, J. L.; Alsop, P. F. B., 'Early Reinforced Concrete Structures - a heritage issue', Transactions of Multi-disciplinary Engineering, Australia, 26 (2002), 81-87, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/engine.222009. Details

Newspaper Articles

• Adams, Keith, 'Obituary: Engineer's bridge of life spanned many lands [Jan (Dick) van der Molen]' (2016), https://www.theage.com.au/national/obituary-engineers--bridge-of-life-spanned-many-lands-20160219-gmyw0f.html. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q23563293. Details
• 'van der Molen, Jan (1924-20151231)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1772714. Details

Theses

• Van Der Molen, Jan Ludzer, 'An investigation into structural failure', PhD thesis, University of Newcastle, 2006, 288 pp. https://books.newcastle.edu.au/record=b2370009. Details