An Engineering Career Measured in Integrity: Remembering Our Mentor
ESI was extremely fortunate to have the leadership of Dr. David L. Pederson for 45 years. Dave became the first employee when ESI Engineering took shape as a spin-off from the University of Minnesota’s structural engineering department in 1970. Although he retired in 2006, Dave continued to work part-time until his passing in 2022. He was a mentor, a trusted advisor, and a friend to the current generations of engineers at ESI. I was fortunate to have worked with him for 27 years, first as a client and later as a colleague.
On my first day at ESI Engineering, I recall sitting in Dave’s office and him giving me this advice: If you are organized, the rest is easy – stay organized. He also stressed:
- Start a new project with the report first and then work on filling in what you don’t know.
- Draw a sketch of the problem. If you can draw an accurate sketch, you will understand the issues, how to model it, and how to solve it.
We share these productivity tips and other advice from Dave with all new employees, and we regularly remind ourselves of these when we are stuck on a problem.
I had a client tell me that they keep a copy of a Dave Pederson report on the bookshelf. Every so often they take it out and say “this is what we want to achieve – to do work that is this good.” Dave’s report was their yardstick. He was an extremely talented and respected engineer; he had the ability to make complicated systems appear simple.
Dave was very active in Rotary International. In several difficult business situations we faced over the years, he brought up the Rotary’s Four-Way Test. It was his personal yardstick.
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
We are committed to meeting the standards that Dave set for us at ESI Engineering. We look forward to working with you and continuing his legacy.
– Tony Baxter (President & Principal Engineer)