After obtaining a
bachelor's degree in
civil engineering from the
University of Missouri (1975), Baker briefly worked for
ExxonMobil and later completed his master's degree at the
University of Illinois (1980). In 1981, he joined the architecture and engineering firm of
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP (SOM) in Chicago; he became a partner there in 1996. Widely regarded for his work on
supertall buildings, Baker also worked on the
Broadgate-Exchange House (London, 1990) and the GM
Renaissance Center Entry Pavilion (Detroit, 2005). He is further known for his work on long-span roof structures, such as the
McCormick Place North Building Expansion (Chicago, 1986), the
Korean Air Lines Operations Center (Seoul, 1995), the
Korea World Trade Center Expansion (Seoul, 2000), and the Virginia Beach Convention Center (Virginia Beach, 2007). Baker has collaborated with artists such as Jamie Carpenter (
Raspberry Island-Schubert Club Band Shell, 2002),
Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle (Gravity is a Force to be Reckoned With, 2010),
Jaume Plensa (World Voices, 2010), and
James Turrell (
Roden Crater). Baker's many skyscraper projects include the
AT&T Corporate Center (Chicago, 1989),
Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago, 2008),
Cayan Tower (Dubai, 2009),
Pearl River Tower (Guangzhou, 2009),
Nanjing Greenland Financial Center (Nanjing, 2009), and the unbuilt
7 South Dearborn (Chicago, 2003). He is best known as the engineer of
Burj Khalifa (Dubai, 2009), the world's tallest man-made structure. To support the tower's record heights, he developed the "
buttressed core" structural system, consisting of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form a Y shape. This innovative system allows the structure to support itself both laterally and torsionally. It also eliminates the need for column transfers, and moves loads in a smooth path from the tower's spire into its foundations. Baker is a Fellow of the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the
Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). He is a member of the
National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and frequently lectures on a variety of structural engineering topics within the US and abroad. Baker was elected as an International Fellow to the
Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) in September 2014. ==Awards==