By Frank Vicidomina, PE, CVS-Life – Value Engineering Officer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans
Sadly, Ron Tanenbaum, PhD, PE, GE, CVS, F.ASCE passed away last month after his courageous three-year battle with cancer. He was my close colleague and even closer friend for almost 20 years.
Ron had a stellar professional career that included being a recognized geologist and geotechnical engineer. He taught at several universities and co-authored one of the most highly touted textbooks for geotechnical design. He was introduced to Value Engineering when we first met and he quickly mastered that as well, obtaining his CVS in short order.
To be honest, I’ll venture to say that Dr. Tanenbaum’s favorite endeavor was teaching, as he truly enjoyed sharing knowledge. I can tell you though, that VE was a very close second. He was passionate about the process, the profession and especially leading workshops. His knowledge and skill, combined with his wonderful personality made him a superior facilitator. As my counterpart in Vicksburg, MS (John Madison) simply states, “Ron never met a stranger”.
Ron sincerely cared about everyone. This was apparent when he led studies as he always tried to improve any given project for the benefit of the client and end users. As such, all of his workshops were successful, and I frequently received positive client feedback. Over the years he produced numerous VE studies that had a positive impact. I was very proud to see him receive the Department of Defense VE Award as pictured.
Dr. Tanenbaum always offered his assistance when needed. He played a big role in putting on our 2015 Conference in San Diego, and I believe he also helped with the Conference held there a number of years back.
Ron was an even better friend. We will always be grateful to him for his help after Hurricane Katrina. My family evacuated and had essentially no phone communication ability as the 504 Area Code went nuclear from overuse. We were desperate to contact other family members and other necessary entities. Ron graciously served as our communication hub, and he just about spent an entire week’s time helping me and my extended family.
Ron leaves behind a wonderful family, including new grandchildren that will certainly carry on his legacy.
He made the world a better place and will be greatly missed.
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