Fazlur Rahman Khan was born on 3rd April, 1929 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer.

After completing undergraduate coursework at the Bengal Engineering College, University of Calcutta (Now Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur), Fazlur R. Khan received his bachelor's degree from the University of Dhaka in 1951 while placing first in his class. A Fulbright Scholarship and a government scholarship enabled him to travel to the United States in 1952 where he pursued advanced studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In three years Khan earned two Master's degrees - one in structural engineering and one in theoretical and applied mechanics - and a PhD in structural engineering.

In 1955, employed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, he began working in Chicago, Illinois. He is noted for his efficient designs for Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center and 110-story Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States since its completion in 1974.

Sears Tower, designed by Fazlur Khan, was the tallest building in the world at the time of its construction Khan's central innovation in construction was the idea of the "tube" and "bundled tube" structural systems for tall buildings. Another innovation that Khan developed was the concept of X-bracing. This concept reduced the lateral load on the building by transferring the load into the exterior columns. This allows for a reduced need for interior columns thus creating more floor space. This concept can be seen in the John Hancock Center.

In step with the abounding vitality of the time, structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan ushered in a renaissance in skyscraper construction during the second half of the 20th century. Fazlur Khan was a pragmatic visionary: the series of progressive ideas that he brought forth for efficient high-rise construction in the 1960s and'70s were validated in his own work, notably his efficient designs for Chicago's 100-story John Hancock Center and 110-story Sears Tower (the tallest building in the United States since its completion in 1974). His ideas for sky-scraping towers offered more than economic construction and iconic architectural images; they gave people the opportunity to work and live "in the sky." Fazlur Khan was always clear about the purpose of architecture. His characteristic statement to an editor in 1971, having just been selected Construction's Man of the Year by Engineering News-Record, is commemorated in a plaque in Onterie Center (446 E. Ontario, Chicago)

Filled with both ambition and optimism, and equipped with solid training in structural engineering, Fazlur Khan was undeterred by the mindset and technological difficulties that hindered tall building design. He recognized that the structural systems utilized for high-rise construction were not on a par with the modern scale of architecture, and he took on the challenge of advancing state-of-the-art structural engineering. A decade of revolutionary advances had just begun. Fazlur Khan's earliest contributions to the field - developing the shear wall frame interaction system, the framed-tube structure, and the tube-in-tube structure -led to significant improvement in structural efficiency: they made the construction of tall buildings economically feasible. The framed-tube structure has its columns closely spaced around the perimeter of the building, rather than scattered throughout the footprint, while stiff spandrel beams connect these columns at every floor level. This structural system was first implemented in 1964 in the construction of the DeWitt-Chestnut Apartments in Chicago, a 43-story reinforced concrete tower designed by Fazlur Khan and his colleagues at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Because of its great relative strength and stiffness, the tubular form immediately became a standard in high-rise design.

In 1961, Fazlur Khan was made a Participating Associate in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; in 1966 he became an Associate Partner and in 1970 a General Partner - the only engineer partner at the time. As the reach of tall buildings extended, Fazlur Khan resolved to discover structural systems appropriate for each new scale of architecture. Crafting rational architecture in cooperation with Bruce J. Graham, chief design architect in SOM's Chicago office, he united an exceptionally efficient "trussed-tube" structural system with an articulate, graceful form for Chicago's 100-storied John Hancock Center.

A few years later he introduced another groundbreaking structural system, the "bundled tube." This design for Chicago's 110-story Sears Tower was structurally efficient and economic: at 1,450 feet, it provided more space and rose higher than the Empire State Building, yet cost much less per unit area. Equally important, the new structure type was innovative in its potential for versatile formulation of architectural space. Efficient towers no longer had to be box-like; the tube-units could take on various shapes and could be bundled together in different sorts of groupings. When one looks at a text on tall-building design today, one finds these recognizable structure types: the framed tube, the shear wall frame interaction, the trussed tube, the bundled tube, and the composite system (also developed by Fazlur Khan). Though Khan developed structural systems for particular project needs, he based his innovations on fundamental structural principles that allowed them wide application. His developments are among today's "conventional" systems for skyscraper design.

Fazlur Khan's personal papers are held by the Ryerson and Burnham Archives at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Achievements:

• He was cited five times among "Men Who Served the Best Interests of the Construction Industry" by Engineering News-Record (for 1965, 1968, 1970, 1971, and 1979)
• Chicagoan of the Year in Architecture and Engineering, Chicago Junior Chamber of Commerce (1970)
• Special Citation Award, American Institute of Steel Construction (1971)
• Wason Medal for the most meritorious paper, American Concrete Institute (1971)
• In 1972 he was named "Construction's Man of the Year.
• Alumni Honor Award from the University of Illinois, Urbana (1972)
• Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award, American Society of Civil Engineers (1972)
• Chicago Civil Engineer of the Year, Illinois Section, ASCE (1972)
• An Honorary Doctor of Science from Northwestern University (1973)
• In 1973 he was honored with the top accolade for an engineer in the United States, election to the National Academy of Engineering.
• J. Lloyd Kimbrough Medal, American Institute of Steel Construction (1973); Khan was only the fifth recipient of AISC's highest tribute to professional achievement in the award's 35-year history.
• Alfred E. Lindau Award, American Concrete Institute (1973) "for outstanding contributions in advancing the art of reinforced concrete construction in high buildings".
• Oscar Faber Medal, Institution of Structural Engineers, London (1973)
• State Service Award, Illinois Council, American Institute of Architects.
• Ernest E. Howard Award, American Society of Civil Engineers (1977).
• G. Brooks Earnest Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, Cleveland Section.
• An Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Lehigh University (1980).
• He was posthumously honored with the International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering and a Distinguished Service Award from the AIA Chicago Chapter (both in 1982).
• In 1983 the American Institute of Architects recognized Fazlur Khan's contributions with an AIA Institute Honor for Distinguished Achievement.
• In 1983he was honored with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture "for the Structure of the Hajj Terminal, An Outstanding Contribution to Architecture for Muslims," which was completed over the last years of his life.
• The Structural Engineers Association of Illinois recognized his achievements with the John Parmer Award in 1987
• The SEAOI also commissioned a sculpture in Fazlur Khan's honor by the Spanish artist Carlos Marinas. The sculpture is located in the lobby of the Sears Tower.
• In 1998 the city of Chicago named the intersection of Jackson and Franklin Streets "Fazlur R. Khan Way".
• Made contributions in creating public opinion and amassing emergency fund for the people of Bangladesh during its War of Liberation. The Government of Bangladesh posthumously awarded him Independence Day Medal 1999 in recognition of his contributions, and a commemorative postal stamp was published in his memory.

This great inventor breathed his last on 27th March, 1982.