Dan M. Frangopol, the inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture Emeritus and professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Lehigh University, has been selected to receive the 2026 Raymond C. Reese Research Prize from the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Frangopol shares the award with Sunyong Kim PhD'11, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Wonkwang University in Korea and Frangopol’s former doctoral student, and Yanzhi Yang, a research assistant at Wonkwang, for their paper, “Optimum Seismic Retrofit of Deteriorating RC Bridge Columns Based on Risk, Cost-Benefit, and Real Option Analyses,” published in the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering in September 2024.
The research develops a framework for optimizing seismic retrofit strategies for deteriorating bridge columns, helping engineers determine when and how to strengthen structures to better withstand earthquakes. By integrating time-dependent risk assessment, economic evaluation, and real options analysis, the approach identifies optimal intervention timing under uncertainty. It is designed to help infrastructure owners reduce seismic risk while balancing life-cycle costs and long-term performance.
The award will be presented at the Structures Congress in Boston on May 1.
This marks the second time Frangopol has received the Reese Research Prize, having previously been honored in 2020. The 2026 recognition represents his 15th award-winning journal paper coauthored with former PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, including multiple honors from ASCE and other international engineering organizations.
Read more about Frangopol’s research and achievements here.
