Lynn S. Beedle

Lynn S. Beedle, a leader and creative force in the study, design and building of skyscrapers, died Thursday at his home in Hellertown, Pa. He was 85.

A structural engineer and a longtime professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., Dr. Beedle was renowned in the construction industry as the founder and guiding influence behind the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

The organization, which was formed in 1969, brought together architects, engineers, product suppliers, urban planners, sociologists and others concerned with skyscrapers and their effect on the city environment. The group ' s studies and monographs soon became critical reading for experts on tall buildings.

Dr. Beedle also served for 25 years as the director of the Structural Stability Research Council, another influential group. Under his leadership, the group established itself as an important voice in the development and dissemination of design standards for steel buildings.

" The word ' visionary ' applies to him so well, " said Nadine Post, the buildings editor for the Engineering News-Record, a weekly construction trade journal.

" He brought together not just the architects and structural engineers of tall buildings, but the mechanical and plumbing engineers and the fire protection engineers, the people who focus on the soil and the foundation, the academics and developers the entire building team across all the different disciplines, " Post said. " That had never been done before. "

Dr. Beedle was born in Orland, Calif. In 1941, after graduating from the University of California Berkeley with a B.S. in civil engineering, he joined the Navy.

In 1947, he joined Lehigh University as an instructor and five years later received his doctorate there in structural engineering. His groundbreaking studies on the properties of steel structures and his creation of the Council on Tall Buildings helped the university become a center for civil and structural engineering research.

Dr. Beedle was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1972, and four years ago the Engineering News-Record named him one of 125 people who made invaluable contributions to the construction industry since the magazine ' s founding in 1874.

Dr. Beedle also received a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2002.

Dr. Beedle is survived by his wife, Ella; a daughter, Helen; four sons, Lynn Jr., Jonathan, David and Edward; and nine grandchildren.