Red Whittaker - Biography

Biography

Whittaker spent his childhood in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where his father was a salesman for explosives and his mother was a chemist. He matriculated at Princeton University, but interrupted his studies to join the United States Marines. He returned to Princeton to earn his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1973 and then attended Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned his master's degree in 1975 and his Ph.D. in 1979, both in civil engineering.