IL SR2267

Illinois Senate expresses condolences for the death of Melvin Thomas "Tom" Davisson, P.E., Ph.D. of Urbana, who passed away on September 9, 2016.

Davisson was born December 23, 1931 in Grafton, West Virginia and earned degrees in civil engineering from the University of Akron and University of Illinois, reaching full professorship in 1971.

Established an engineering consulting practice in 1958 and worked as a geotechnical consulting engineer from 1981 to 2000, earning the Distinguished Service Award from the Deep Foundations Institute for his work on pile driving.

Davisson is particularly noted for developing "The Davisson Limit," a widely-used definition of pile failure load, and published numerous professional papers on construction equipment and design.

Survived by his wife of 61 years Marlene "Mickey," three children (James Preston, Diana Marie, and Kathleen Elaine Davisson), and multiple step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren.