The Life of JAM is the story of the life of Dr. James A. Mandel PE. He was born on Christmas day in 1934 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. His parents Isadore and Jennie Mandel guided his early years. He learned to swim at age 7. Jim earned a BS in Civil Engineering at Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1956. In the summer between his junior and senior years, he worked for the Bureau of Ships in Washington DC. From 1956 to 1961, except for six months in the army, he worked for Richardson, Gordon, and Associates. He designed many highway and railroad bridges. In 1959 he married Rita J Mandel. Rita was the interior designer for the Veterans Hospital. They had two children, Belinda and Bob. In 1962, Jim received a MS in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology. From 1962 to 1964, he worked for Goodyear Aerospace Corporation in Akron, Ohio. He was in charge of the structural design and wind tunnel testing of the Gemini Ballute. In 1967, he received a PhD in Civil Engineering at Syracuse University. From 1967 to 2008, he was a professor at Syracuse University. Rita died from breast cancer 1991. Jim married Carolyn Lisi on June 26, 1998.