Skip to Content

John Adjeleian

Research Interests

Graduate Students

1923  – 2004

John Adjeleian, Emeritus Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering passed away in hospital on Thursday, October 14, 2004.

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, John received his engineering education at McGill University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1955 John founded one of the original structural engineering firms in the capital area. Incorporated in 1955 the firm of Adjeleian and Associates (currently Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Inc.) is now recognized as one of the nation’s leading firms of structural consultants. It has provided engineering services for over 3000 engineering projects in Canada and abroad, including many that are recognized for their outstanding structural design, including the Fathers of Confederation Memorial Building in Prince Edward Island, National Arts Centre, Ottawa, and the SkyDome in Toronto.

John has had a long association with Carleton. His firm has designed a majority of buildings on the Carleton campus. They were the designers of the Tory Building, the first building to be built at the new campus. Since then John’s firm has designed many more buildings for Carleton, including the Loeb Building, the Southam Hall, the Library, Patterson Hall, Davidson Dunton Tower, Robertson Hall, Steacie Building, Minto Case Building and several of the residences.

John’s contributions to Carleton go beyond the design of a majority of buildings on its campus. He joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1975 and served as its Chair from 1976 to 1982. During his tenure as the Chair, Dr. Adjeleian built the department into a centre of excellence in engineering education and research, leaving a legacy that continues to flourish to this date.

John continues to support Carleton in many different ways. Recently he set up a generous endowment fund that will in perpetuity recognize excellence in research and education by supporting outstanding graduate students.

In 2003 the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering established an annual lecture series named after John to celebrate the many accomplishments of John and his contributions to Carleton, to the profession of Civil Engineering and to the Canadian Society. The lectures will highlight outstanding achievements in the field of civil engineering and ethics and integrity in the practice of engineering.

John’s goal was always to strive for excellence, integrity and honesty.
He was respected as an outstanding structural engineer not only by his peers but also by the community of architects who valued his commitment to achieving a harmonious synthesis of the architecture and the structure. In recognition of his contributions, the Ontario Association of Architects has made him an honorary member of its organization.