Professor Dan M. FRANGOPOL, an Honorary Professor and member of the International Advisory Committee at the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in recognition of his contributions to life-cycle civil engineering and his leadership in advancing its global development and adoption. NAE membership is one of the highest honors in engineering, awarded to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to engineering practice, research, and education; pioneered new and emerging technological fields; significantly advanced traditional engineering disciplines; or developed and implemented innovative approaches to engineering education and leadership.
Prof. FRANGOPOL, the inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture at Lehigh University, is internationally renowned for pioneering life-cycle civil engineering. His work has laid the foundation for the field and facilitated its integration into civil engineering practice worldwide. He holds five honorary doctorates, 14 honorary professorships, and membership in eight academies across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Belgium, Romania, and Europe, among others.
His research focuses on the development and application of probabilistic and optimization methods in civil and marine engineering within a life-cycle framework. His key areas of expertise include life-cycle cost analysis; probability-based assessment, design, and multi-criteria life-cycle optimization of structures and infrastructure systems; structural health monitoring; maintenance and management of structures and distributed infrastructure under extreme events (such as tsunamis, hurricanes, and floods); sustainability and resilience of infrastructure; and climate change adaptation.
Prof. FRANGOPOL’s contributions have been recognized with numerous awards for research, education, and service, including the ASCE OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. He has been honored by several prestigious organizations, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability (IASSAR), the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII), and the International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International). In 2023, ASCE established the Dan M. FRANGOPOL Medal for Life-Cycle Engineering of Civil Structures to commemorate his groundbreaking work.
In addition to his academic and research achievements, Prof. FRANGOPOL is the founding president of two major international associations: the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (IABMAS) and the International Association for Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE). These organizations, which collectively have over 3,000 members from 75 countries, promote global collaboration and the advancement of societal well-being through their biennial conferences, typically held on different continents. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, a respected international peer-reviewed journal launched in 2005.
Congratulations to Prof. FRANGOPOL!
