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Armenian Society to Host Book Signing for '...And Then I Met The Getty Kouros'
Friday, January 9th, 2015
'... And Then I Met The Getty Kouros' by Jack Njdeh Yaghoubian
LOS ANGELES--Engineer Jack Njdeh Yaghoubian, who recently published a
book about his life and his engineering accomplishments called "...And
Then I Met The Getty Kouros," will be honored by the Armenian Society
of Los Angeles at a book signing event on Jan. 23 at 7 pm.
Yaghoubian has made a huge impact on the field of engineering in the
United States and around the world. The Armenian-Iranian-American
invented and holds the patent for an ingenious earthquake base
isolation system that enabled the Getty Museum's broken Kouros statue
of a nude male to stand on its own two marble feet after 2,500 years.
His memoir touches on many personal as well as professional subjects:
growing up in the Armenian minority in Iran during the 1950s, the
challenges of adapting to student life in America, the ways in which
careers are shaped, playing a role in innovative engineering
initiatives, and what it means to be an informed citizen in one's
adopted country.
Yaghoubian's parents met as children in an Iranian orphanage set up to
help children whose parents died in the Armenian Genocide. Growing up
in Tehran, he chronicles the beginning of the Armenian Youth Cultural
Organization, later known as Ararat, being instrumental in the
phenomenal growth of the Armenian Scout Organization.
Arriving in the U.S. to study civil engineering at the University of
Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Yaghoubian writes with humor and warmth
about his early experiences, which are familiar to many immigrants:
The shock of communal showers, amazement at the tea bag and confusion
over the "hot dog".
Author Jack Njdeh Yaghoubian
Yaghoubian was, he says, born to be an engineer and his memoir
chronicles a journey of a life fulfilled. After graduating from
college, he went on to design engineering solutions for the largest
geo-tech firms in the world. Closely working with giants such as Dr.
Charles Richter, the inventor of world famous earthquake Richter
Scale, Yaghoubian became increasingly specialized in earthquake
engineering.
On a visit to the Getty Museum in Malibu he saw that the antiquities
were vulnerable to earthquakes and developed the base isolation system
to protect them. The system made art objects behave as if suspended in
air and remain unaffected by shaking. This pioneering method
reverberated through museums worldwide.
Based on the success of this new technology, Yaghoubian was asked to
evaluate the fragmented Getty Kouros dating to 530BC - "Kouros" being
the ancient Greek marble statues of male nudes. The earthquake base
isolation system he had developed, combined with a mechanical joint
system, was what made it possible for the Getty Kouros to stand
againafter 2,500 years.
"... And Then I Met The Getty Kouros" is a compelling and beautifully
written memoir presented in an open and factual manner. It is not a
typical memoir of being trapped between two countries; rather, it is a
celebration of culture and history and moving seamlessly between two
contrasting worlds.
The book signing event at the Armenian Society of Los Angeles, 117
Louise Street, Glendale, is open to the public.
http://asbarez.com/130593/armenian-society-to-host-book-signing-for-%E2%80%98%E2%80%A6and-then-i-met-the-getty-kouros%E2%80%99/
Friday, January 9th, 2015
'... And Then I Met The Getty Kouros' by Jack Njdeh Yaghoubian
LOS ANGELES--Engineer Jack Njdeh Yaghoubian, who recently published a
book about his life and his engineering accomplishments called "...And
Then I Met The Getty Kouros," will be honored by the Armenian Society
of Los Angeles at a book signing event on Jan. 23 at 7 pm.
Yaghoubian has made a huge impact on the field of engineering in the
United States and around the world. The Armenian-Iranian-American
invented and holds the patent for an ingenious earthquake base
isolation system that enabled the Getty Museum's broken Kouros statue
of a nude male to stand on its own two marble feet after 2,500 years.
His memoir touches on many personal as well as professional subjects:
growing up in the Armenian minority in Iran during the 1950s, the
challenges of adapting to student life in America, the ways in which
careers are shaped, playing a role in innovative engineering
initiatives, and what it means to be an informed citizen in one's
adopted country.
Yaghoubian's parents met as children in an Iranian orphanage set up to
help children whose parents died in the Armenian Genocide. Growing up
in Tehran, he chronicles the beginning of the Armenian Youth Cultural
Organization, later known as Ararat, being instrumental in the
phenomenal growth of the Armenian Scout Organization.
Arriving in the U.S. to study civil engineering at the University of
Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Yaghoubian writes with humor and warmth
about his early experiences, which are familiar to many immigrants:
The shock of communal showers, amazement at the tea bag and confusion
over the "hot dog".
Author Jack Njdeh Yaghoubian
Yaghoubian was, he says, born to be an engineer and his memoir
chronicles a journey of a life fulfilled. After graduating from
college, he went on to design engineering solutions for the largest
geo-tech firms in the world. Closely working with giants such as Dr.
Charles Richter, the inventor of world famous earthquake Richter
Scale, Yaghoubian became increasingly specialized in earthquake
engineering.
On a visit to the Getty Museum in Malibu he saw that the antiquities
were vulnerable to earthquakes and developed the base isolation system
to protect them. The system made art objects behave as if suspended in
air and remain unaffected by shaking. This pioneering method
reverberated through museums worldwide.
Based on the success of this new technology, Yaghoubian was asked to
evaluate the fragmented Getty Kouros dating to 530BC - "Kouros" being
the ancient Greek marble statues of male nudes. The earthquake base
isolation system he had developed, combined with a mechanical joint
system, was what made it possible for the Getty Kouros to stand
againafter 2,500 years.
"... And Then I Met The Getty Kouros" is a compelling and beautifully
written memoir presented in an open and factual manner. It is not a
typical memoir of being trapped between two countries; rather, it is a
celebration of culture and history and moving seamlessly between two
contrasting worlds.
The book signing event at the Armenian Society of Los Angeles, 117
Louise Street, Glendale, is open to the public.
http://asbarez.com/130593/armenian-society-to-host-book-signing-for-%E2%80%98%E2%80%A6and-then-i-met-the-getty-kouros%E2%80%99/